Hartford Financial Management Inc. Trims Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hartford Financial Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,357 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.7% of Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in Apple by 70.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 27.7% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $132,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Maxim Group started coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $182.74 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.