Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Lifted by LPF Advisors LLC

LPF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 60.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,663 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 0.8% of LPF Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. LPF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third 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. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $239.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.95, 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $237.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.03. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

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.