Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Sells 83,477 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,990,457 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 83,477 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.5% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in Apple were worth $748,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised 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 last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned 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.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.88.

Remove Ads

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $220.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. 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 50 day moving average price of $236.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.12. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.