AdvisorNet Financial Inc Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,764 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,982 shares during the period. Apple comprises 2.3% of AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $27,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $245.55 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.72. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple 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.