Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Has $13.58 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,216 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 377 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.1% of Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Down 0.0 %

Apple stock opened at $247.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.21, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $240.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. StockNews.com cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.88.

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.