Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 23.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,963 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 0.8% of Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $235.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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 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 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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.