Leading Edge Financial Planning LLC Trims Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Leading Edge Financial Planning LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,572 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Leading Edge Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in 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. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $223.19 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.08 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $230.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.43.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Bank of America upped their price objective on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.52.

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.