Crestmont Private Wealth LLC Cuts Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Crestmont Private Wealth LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,908 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 258 shares during the period. Apple comprises 0.3% of Crestmont Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 88.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $247.04 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.21, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $240.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.34.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders 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 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

Apple Company 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.