Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 25.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,709 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 0.8% of Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its holdings in Apple by 12.8% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after buying an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,505,000 after buying an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group increased their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $218.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $231.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.33. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

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.