Ledge Wealth Management Inc. Has $4.64 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ledge Wealth Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,107 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,313 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.8% of Ledge Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Ledge Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its stake in Apple by 118.0% in 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. PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in Apple by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $169.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.79. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 25th. DA Davidson started coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.05.

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.