Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Buys 14,972 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 39.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,903 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,972 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush cut their price target on Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.85.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $193.16 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.77 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $218.77 and its 200 day moving average is $229.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Apple

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.