Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Zhang Financial LLC

Zhang Financial LLC cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 196,007 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,658 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.8% of Zhang Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $49,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $239.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.08 and a twelve month 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $237.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid 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 yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

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.