Global Wealth Strategies & Associates Acquires 838 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 0.9% of Global Wealth Strategies & Associates’ holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates’ holdings in Apple were worth $2,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $244.60 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. 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 $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors 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 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.