Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Sells 8,463 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,022 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 8,463 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.6% of Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted 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 worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.22.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $213.49 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $234.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.