Hardy Reed LLC Grows Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hardy Reed LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,617 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.8% of Hardy Reed LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $31,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $232.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.95, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $241.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $230.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly 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 expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

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.