Willis Investment Counsel Increases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Willis Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 110,581 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.8% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Apple were worth $27,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Sunesis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Sunesis Advisors LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 121,792 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $30,498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,416 shares during the last quarter. Level Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $801,000. Finally, Tanglewood Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Apple by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Tanglewood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,056 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
Apple Stock Up 1.9 %
Apple stock opened at $222.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Maxim Group upped their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, January 31st. 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.52.
Read Our Latest Report on AAPL
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.
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