Warner Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Warner Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,763 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,609 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.7% of Warner Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Warner Financial Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the third 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. raised its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $218.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $231.82 and a 200-day moving average of $233.26. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its 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 anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued 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 was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

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.