Sentry LLC Has $6.41 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sentry LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,907 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.2% of Sentry LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Sentry LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Busey Bank grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 1,027,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $257,327,000 after buying an additional 3,467 shares during the last quarter. Stordahl Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Stordahl Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,821 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 16,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,131,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 183,398 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $44,722,000 after acquiring an additional 12,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Enzi Wealth increased its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 15,450 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,869,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on 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 assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.65.

Apple Trading Up 1.4 %

AAPL opened at $223.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.08 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $231.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.43.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.