Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Trimmed by Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,425 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.1% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $218.27 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $231.82 and a 200 day moving average of $233.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

About Apple

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.