Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Burford Brothers Inc.’s Largest Position

Burford Brothers Inc. decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 72,189 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 747 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 8.9% of Burford Brothers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Burford Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third 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 period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 1.9 %

AAPL opened at $222.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.42. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.52.

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.