Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Lifted by Stevens Capital Partners

Stevens Capital Partners grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,969 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.2% of Stevens Capital Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Stevens Capital Partners’ holdings in Apple were worth $2,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allodium Investment Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. MONECO Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 111,982 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,043,000 after acquiring an additional 9,837 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 62,139 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $15,561,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Lansing Street Advisors lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 15,459 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,871,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 455,685 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $114,113,000 after acquiring an additional 31,832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.63.

Insider Activity

In other Apple 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 transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $213.32 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $212.98 and a 200-day moving average of $228.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.