Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.6% of Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position 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. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired 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 during the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. 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. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

Apple Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $218.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G 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 $233.33. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts predict 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.