Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Boosted by Cassia Capital Partners LLC

Cassia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 72.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,905 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 4,154 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.6% of Cassia Capital Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Cassia Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd 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. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.26.

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Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded down $14.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $188.38. 125,530,035 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,311,458. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $230.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.15.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

About Apple

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.