Southland Equity Partners LLC Increases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,384 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 7.3% of Southland Equity Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Southland Equity Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $31,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd 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. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Apple to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.22.

Apple Stock Up 1.8 %

AAPL opened at $213.49 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.08 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $234.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.77. The company has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

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.