Brookstone Capital Management Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Brookstone Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 437,094 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 14,360 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.1% of Brookstone Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $56,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Robinson Value Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 75.4% during the third quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 5,935.2% during the second quarter. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC now owns 233,803 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 229,929 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its stake 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 worth $49,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $55,000. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $125.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Apple from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on Apple from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $175.00 price target on Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.24.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $155.00 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $179.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.30.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $117.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.67 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 163.45% and a net margin of 24.56%. The company’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 13th were given a $0.23 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 10th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.62%.

About Apple

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.