Financial Life Planners Takes Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 28,790 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,211,000. Apple accounts for about 6.0% of Financial Life Planners’ portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $223.19 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $230.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.43.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.52.

Apple Company 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.