Forza Wealth Management LLC Has $3.32 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Forza Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,265 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 293 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.5% of Forza Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Forza Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Counterweight Ventures LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 2.3% during the second quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC now owns 30,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,430,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $3,907,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 27.4% during the second quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,991 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,658 shares in the last quarter. Lynch & Associates IN boosted its stake in Apple by 3.1% during the second quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 47,860 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 41.5% during the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 424,428 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $89,393,000 after acquiring an additional 124,488 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $245.55 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $240.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.55.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. 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 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

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.