Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Buffington Mohr McNeal

Buffington Mohr McNeal raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,320 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 4,496 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.5% of Buffington Mohr McNeal’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its position in shares of Apple by 12.8% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital downgraded 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. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $218.27 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given 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 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

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.