Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Powers Advisory Group LLC

Powers Advisory Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,546 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 136 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.3% of Powers Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Powers Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $223.85 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year 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. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $230.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.