Smith Salley Wealth Management Has $98.65 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 393,952 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,156 shares during the period. Apple makes up 6.3% of Smith Salley Wealth Management's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Smith Salley Wealth Management's holdings in Apple were worth $98,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd 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 bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction 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 represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.88.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $235.74. 47,184,984 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,560,264. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.