Ferguson Shapiro LLC Trims Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ferguson Shapiro LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,572 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 371 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.9% of Ferguson Shapiro LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Ferguson Shapiro LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,122,000 after buying an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on AAPL shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

Apple Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $223.75 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $231.35 and a 200 day moving average of $233.43.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. 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.