Lazari Capital Management Inc. Acquires 27,734 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 175,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,734 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 17.5% of Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $43,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.52.

Apple Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $223.19 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.43. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 payout ratio 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.