Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s 3rd Largest Position

LifeSteps Financial Inc. boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,846 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Apple comprises 6.1% of LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 16,252.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,992,420 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 6,949,659 shares in the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its position in Apple by 21.7% during the first quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in Apple by 70.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $176.55 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $176.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.31. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.42 and a 12 month high of $199.62. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.08.

Insider Transactions at Apple

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 transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 253,915 shares of company stock valued at $44,202,868. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.