Valley National Advisers Inc. Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 121,792 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,416 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 5.5% of Valley National Advisers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $30,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.2% during the 4th 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 position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Maxim Group boosted their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.52.

Apple Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $217.90 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $230.70 and a 200 day moving average of $233.43.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.