Lam Group Inc. Cuts Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Lam Group Inc. decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,459 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Lam Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Apple by 252.3% in the third 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 period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $239.07 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $237.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.88.

Apple 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.