Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Cut by Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,634 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 10.7% of Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake 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 worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. Maxim Group raised their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $218.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.33. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly 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 analysts forecast 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.