Capital Investment Counsel LLC Decreases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Capital Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 885 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.0% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 0.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $218.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $231.82 and its 200 day moving average is $233.42.

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 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James increased their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

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.