Orca Wealth Management LLC Buys New Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Orca Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 58,457 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $14,639,000. Apple makes up approximately 13.2% of Orca Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. BSW Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 110,171 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,589,000 after buying an additional 7,373 shares during the period. Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,709 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Bensler LLC lifted its position in Apple by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 136,273 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,725 shares during the period. Tamar Securities LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Tamar Securities LLC now owns 143,330 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,893,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 12,634 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $218.27 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.42.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

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.