MFG Wealth Management Inc. Buys New Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

MFG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,818 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,462,000. Apple makes up about 4.1% of MFG Wealth Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.8% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $59,122,000 after buying an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 276,791 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $64,492,000 after acquiring an additional 6,711 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $202.33 to $167.88 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.85.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded up $2.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $196.79. 51,328,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,825,645. The company's 50-day moving average is $219.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.13. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.77 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $2.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. 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 issued 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%. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.