RFG Advisory LLC Has $42.69 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 170,468 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,086 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.2% of RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $42,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.22.

Apple Trading Up 1.8 %

AAPL opened at $213.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. 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 $234.52 and its 200-day moving average is $233.77. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. 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.