Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Increased by Stratos Investment Management LLC

Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.8% of Stratos Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 70.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $132,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Redburn Partners lowered shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.62.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $173.50 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $199.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $172.86 and its 200-day moving average is $181.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.95%.

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.