Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Sawyer & Company Inc’s Largest Position

Sawyer & Company Inc trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,788 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,348 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 5.2% of Sawyer & Company Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $237.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.67, a PEG ratio of 2.44 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 one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $239.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.42.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 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.