Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Lowers Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 72,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 871 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.4% of Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in Apple by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $787,631,000 after buying an additional 588,427 shares during the last quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,146 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,995,000 after buying an additional 3,324 shares during the last quarter. MKT Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,872 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,919,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 4,294 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kwmg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 24,734 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,763,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $218.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, 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’s 50-day moving average price is $231.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.33. 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 issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Apple Company 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.