Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Boosted by Soltis Investment Advisors LLC

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 187,426 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,354 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.1% of Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $36,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 14,395.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after buying an additional 70,212,651 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $560,388,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $487,435,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after buying an additional 2,826,709 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after buying an additional 2,018,010 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $183.38 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $172.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 14.93%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.