Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is NBC Securities Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

NBC Securities Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 99.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 139 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 190,227 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.6% of NBC Securities Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $35,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Loop Capital lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group increased 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. Finally, DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

Apple Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $214.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $232.19 and a 200 day moving average of $233.33. The company has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.