FAS Wealth Partners Inc. Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,540 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,177 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.6% of FAS Wealth Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. FAS Wealth Partners Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $27,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation increased its position in Apple by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $165.84 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $162.80 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $174.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.