Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Raised by Cowa LLC

Cowa LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,259 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.1% of Cowa LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Cowa LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% during 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 in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $237.87 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.12, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $240.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $230.52.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Apple to $184.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.85.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was 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 owned by 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.