Ervin Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ervin Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,141 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,418 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 9.6% of Ervin Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Ervin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.6 %

Apple stock opened at $239.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $237.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.08. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

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.