Lantz Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,119 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 537 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.2% of Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $213.49 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.82. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. 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 (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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.22.

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.