Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC Has $10.98 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,829 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.9% of Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in Apple by 88.9% during the third 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 during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

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

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $209.68 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.08 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $235.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a PEG 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.