Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Boosted by Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV

Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,176 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.8% of Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 6.3% during the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 784,520 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,318,000 after purchasing an additional 46,216 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 4.3% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 143,501 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $24,569,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares in the last quarter. Platte River Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.1% during the third quarter. Platte River Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,407 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,685,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Polaris Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Apple by 77.3% during the third quarter. Polaris Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 322,877 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $55,280,000 after purchasing an additional 140,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,813 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $169.02 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.80 and a 1 year high of $199.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.27. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.57%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Redburn Partners cut Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.05.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Company 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.