Weaver Capital Management LLC Buys 1,860 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,515 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,860 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.4% of Weaver Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its stake in Apple by 12.8% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,122,000 after buying an additional 28,799 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.2% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.5% during the third quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 276,791 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $64,492,000 after acquiring an additional 6,711 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $188.38 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.08 and a twelve 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $229.45 and its 200 day moving average is $232.96.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.26.

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.