Cove Private Wealth LLC Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cove Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,009 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,085 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 9.3% of Cove Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Cove Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 734,077 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $183,828,000 after purchasing an additional 12,349 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in Apple by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 169,584 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,470,000 after acquiring an additional 15,302 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 27,851 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,974,000 after acquiring an additional 3,258 shares during the period. Meritas Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,427 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,573 shares during the period. Finally, Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 186,402 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $46,679,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $239.07 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.08 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.88.

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.