Marotta Asset Management Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Marotta Asset Management decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,256 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 248 shares during the quarter. Marotta Asset Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at $77,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America boosted 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. Maxim Group upped their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given 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 MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple 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 transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.2 %

Apple stock opened at $244.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $240.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.20. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

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.