Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lessened by GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 309,098 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,402 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.4% of GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $72,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Apple by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $787,631,000 after buying an additional 588,427 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.6% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 491,209 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $114,452,000 after acquiring an additional 17,284 shares in the last quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.2% in the third quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in Apple by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 14,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HCR Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 530,528 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $123,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,816 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $222.13 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.42. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.52.

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.