Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Howard Capital Management Group LLC

Howard Capital Management Group LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 434,499 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,251 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 7.4% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $108,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.3% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Maxim Group raised their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Apple to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.88.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $220.84 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $236.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.12.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Apple 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.