Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,428 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,680 shares during the period. Apple comprises 6.0% of Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third 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 period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $190.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.23, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.33.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.26.

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.