Buffington Mohr McNeal Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Buffington Mohr McNeal raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,320 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,496 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.5% of Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $218.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

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.