Hodges Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,782 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,931 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.2% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in shares of Apple by 21.1% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $787,631,000 after buying an additional 588,427 shares during the period. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 4.8% in the third quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. McCarthy & Cox grew its holdings in Apple by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. McCarthy & Cox now owns 1,767 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Investment Management increased its position in shares of Apple by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Guardian Investment Management now owns 98,729 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $23,004,000 after purchasing an additional 6,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bright Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bright Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,767 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,907,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Apple Trading Up 0.5 %
Shares of Apple stock opened at $223.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.43. 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 – Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Announces Dividend
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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.
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