PFW Advisors LLC Invests $6.25 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 24,946 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,247,000. Apple comprises 1.9% of PFW Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $60,958,000 after purchasing an additional 7,606 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,473,224,000 after purchasing an additional 126,210 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its position 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 period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.85.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $245.55 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $240.47 and its 200-day moving average is $232.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given 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 payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.