Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Has $44.32 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,963 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 18,388 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.2% of Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in Apple were worth $44,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its holdings in Apple by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in Apple by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $87,501,000 after purchasing an additional 34,414 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was 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 valued at $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Maxim Group boosted their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.25.

Apple Trading Up 3.0 %

Apple stock traded up $6.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $205.83. 13,793,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,640,486. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.69. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.92 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.67, 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders 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 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

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.