Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 254,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,533 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.1% of Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $61,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.52.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $217.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS 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, equities research analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.