Howe & Rusling Inc. Raises Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 155,331 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.1% of Howe & Rusling Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $36,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. 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 period. ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $238.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $240.97 and a 200 day moving average of $230.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.05.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.