Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 163,068 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,167 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 6.2% of Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $40,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 20,372.7% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $77,542,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after acquiring an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Apple by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,121,656,000 after acquiring an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $223.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.53, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.08 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $230.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.