Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Boosted by Financial Life Advisors

Financial Life Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,405 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Financial Life Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 821,627 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $205,752,000 after purchasing an additional 10,829 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 414,329 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $103,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Visionary Horizons LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC now owns 5,753 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 75,669 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,949,000 after acquiring an additional 2,522 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 28,231 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,070,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 4.1 %

Apple stock opened at $198.15 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $222.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.14.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.26.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Company 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.