Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Wealth Forward LLC

Wealth Forward LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 219 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.2% of Wealth Forward LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Wealth Forward LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 20,372.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 6.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 1.9 %

Apple stock opened at $218.27 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $231.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.26. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.08 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Maxim Group upped their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

Apple Company 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.