SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC Has $21.68 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 86,559 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,509 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.5% of SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $21,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.52.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $217.90 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.