Valued Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 0.7% of Valued Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $214.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $232.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.33.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Maxim Group increased their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.