MBE Wealth Management LLC Sells 359 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

MBE Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 359 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 0.8% of MBE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. MBE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th 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. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $218.27 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. 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 PE ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share (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%. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors 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 yield of 0.46%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.