Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lessened by Scarborough Advisors LLC

Scarborough Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,343 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Robinson Value Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its position in Apple by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 5,935.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC now owns 233,803 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 229,929 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 21.7% during the first quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at about $55,000. 57.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Apple from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on Apple from $167.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. National Bank Financial cut their price target on Apple to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $160.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.24.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $150.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $143.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.30. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.17 and a 12-month high of $179.61.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $117.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.67 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 163.45% and a net margin of 24.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 13th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.62%.

Apple Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.