Verity Asset Management Inc. Has $4.55 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Verity Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,041 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 19,005 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.4% of Verity Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its stake in Apple by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.52.

Apple Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $223.89 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.36. The stock has a market cap 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 has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.08 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.