Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lifted by Gateway Wealth Partners LLC

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,980 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,687 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.3% of Gateway Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.8% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,122,000 after buying an additional 28,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $218.27 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $3.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $231.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.42. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

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.