HBW Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,374 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.2% of HBW Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Apple by 127.4% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after acquiring an additional 42,282 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 60,021 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,292,000 after purchasing an additional 5,830 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 112,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $19,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 44,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,563,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 263,747 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $45,227,000 after buying an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $229.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $227.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.40. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

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.