Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lifted by M3 Advisory Group LLC

M3 Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,525 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.1% of M3 Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. M3 Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third 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. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $212.69 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $233.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.60. The company has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Maxim Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

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.