Synergy Asset Management LLC Has $16.07 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Synergy Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 83,460 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 21,715 shares during the period. Apple comprises 2.9% of Synergy Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP increased its stake in shares of Apple by 200.0% during the third quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.08.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $172.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $2.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $176.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.32. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.80 and a 52-week high of $199.62.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

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.