Sentry LLC Sells 3,907 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sentry LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,907 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.2% of Sentry LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Sentry LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 20,372.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Argus raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

Apple Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $223.75 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $231.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 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.