Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s Largest Position

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 352,766 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 9.3% of SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $88,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after buying an additional 7,606 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,473,224,000 after acquiring an additional 126,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $247.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $240.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.21, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Maxim Group increased their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.88.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.