Hixon Zuercher LLC Has $9.78 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hixon Zuercher LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,039 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 827 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.8% of Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 20,372.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after acquiring an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $221.53 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $231.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.35. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Maxim Group raised their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating 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 report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

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.