CWA Asset Management Group LLC Has $131.34 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 524,466 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,111 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 6.6% of CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $131,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Apple by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 21,051,418 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,301,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503,647 shares during the period. First Citizens Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 23,725 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 125,528 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $31,435,000 after buying an additional 54,297 shares during the last quarter. NRI Wealth Management LC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $8,259,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 230,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $57,777,000 after purchasing an additional 30,508 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $244.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $240.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’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 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 represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

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.