Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.79 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,132 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.4% of Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $221.53 on Thursday. 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 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $231.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Four investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.