Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Baker Chad R’s Largest Position

Baker Chad R cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210,474 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 10.3% of Baker Chad R’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Baker Chad R’s holdings in Apple were worth $52,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after purchasing an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,473,224,000 after purchasing an additional 126,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $238.03 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.85. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.