SOL Capital Management CO Sells 41,520 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

SOL Capital Management CO lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 44.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,293 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 41,520 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.5% of SOL Capital Management CO's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. SOL Capital Management CO's holdings in Apple were worth $13,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Apple Trading Down 2.7 %

AAPL stock traded down $5.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $217.90. The company had a trading volume of 39,775,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,852,651. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $230.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.35. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.08 and a 12 month 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 market cap of $3.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James boosted their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Oppenheimer cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Maxim Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.52.

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.