Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Lakewood Asset Management LLC

Lakewood Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,165 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,551 shares during the period. Apple comprises 4.1% of Lakewood Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Lakewood Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stewardship Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Stewardship Advisors LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 69,603 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 17,366 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,410 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 83,084 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,996,000 after purchasing an additional 2,874 shares during the period. Finally, JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 212,154 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,846,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler Companies downgraded shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.27.

Apple Trading Up 2.1 %

AAPL opened at $173.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.98 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $181.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.