Leisure Capital Management Buys 58,637 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Leisure Capital Management increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 72.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,879 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,637 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 13.7% of Leisure Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Leisure Capital Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $35,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.52.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $223.19 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $230.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.43. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.