25 LLC Raises Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

25 LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,675 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.7% of 25 LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. 25 LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $238.03 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $239.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Apple Profile

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.