Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s Largest Position

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,494 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 10,915 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.6% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $37,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 8.6% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,266,000 after acquiring an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 42.1% in the second quarter. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,516 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 2,521 shares during the last quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the second quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 77,458 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,314,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.1% in the second quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 29,262 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,163,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Divergent Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $317,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $236.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $240.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.85.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.