Sheets Smith Wealth Management Raises Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,039 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,765 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.7% of Sheets Smith Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Sheets Smith Wealth Management's holdings in Apple were worth $14,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. White Pine Investment CO increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. White Pine Investment CO now owns 44,039 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $2,136,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 25,713 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 30,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,513,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JBGlobal.com LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $2,302,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.88.

Remove Ads

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $220.84 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $236.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.12. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date 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.

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.