Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. Buys 1,101 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 34.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,322 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 0.5% of Grunden Financial Advisory Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Grunden Financial Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Columbus Macro LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 214.3% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 33,285 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,335,000 after buying an additional 22,695 shares in the last quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 19,613 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,912,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Management Inc. now owns 1,427 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $923,000. Finally, Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,203,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Maxim Group upped their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.52.

Apple Trading Up 0.3 %

AAPL stock opened at $223.89 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.36. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued 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 presently 15.87%.

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.