Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC Boosts Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,963 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 0.8% of Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $235.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $237.89 and its 200 day moving average is $233.94. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 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%. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

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.