Ewa LLC Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ewa LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,606 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,044 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.1% of Ewa LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Ewa LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. 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 bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings 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 valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $232.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.20.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

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.