Leverty Financial Group LLC Sells 350 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Leverty Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,270 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 0.3% of Leverty Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Leverty Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $568,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Oppenheimer downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.52.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $217.90 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $230.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.43. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.46%. 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.