Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Fortis Group Advisors LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Fortis Group Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,191 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,505 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.2% of Fortis Group Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Fortis Group Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $17,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Citizens & Northern Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 60,417 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $15,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,838 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,960,205 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $490,874,000 after purchasing an additional 29,348 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,303,847 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,829,029,000 after purchasing an additional 213,139 shares during the period. Wealth Quarterback LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 37,341 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $9,351,000 after buying an additional 2,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,024,242 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,007,565,000 after buying an additional 149,260 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $204.57 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $166.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $217.14 and a 200 day moving average of $229.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 0.49%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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