Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s 2nd Largest Position

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 999,948 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,596 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.6% of Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Apple were worth $192,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caliber Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,457 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,818,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 72.5% during the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,821 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 15,056 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 7.4% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 906,664 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $155,230,000 after acquiring an additional 62,513 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 12.9% in the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 52,566 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,000,000 after acquiring an additional 6,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Services of America Inc. increased its position in Apple by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 9,938 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.62.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $173.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $199.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $172.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.77. The stock has a market cap of $2.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple 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.