Stratos Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Stratos Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,769 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,449 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.6% of Stratos Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $25,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $188.38 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $229.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.96. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share 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, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Maxim Group raised their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.26.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.