Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's Largest Position

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 148.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 401,479 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 239,977 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.5% of Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $100,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.88.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $0.19 on Wednesday, reaching $235.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 47,184,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,560,264. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.42, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $238.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.