ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. Acquires 6,000 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 117.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 0.9% of ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida lifted its position in shares of Apple by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 15,246 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,818,000 after acquiring an additional 3,433 shares in the last quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,882 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,485,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 27,847 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,974,000 after buying an additional 2,496 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 488,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $122,385,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $244.60 on Tuesday. 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 $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $240.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.75. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.