Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Increased by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 405,309 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Apple makes up 4.2% of Sowell Financial Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $78,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $169.30 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $173.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The stock has a market capitalization 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.