Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Strategic Blueprint LLC’s 5th Largest Position

Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 158,943 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.4% of Strategic Blueprint LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Strategic Blueprint LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $39,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth about $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $220.73 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.08 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.41.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.