Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by HWG Holdings LP

HWG Holdings LP raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,119 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 7.6% of HWG Holdings LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. HWG Holdings LP’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.86.

Apple Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of AAPL opened at $201.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $202.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.71. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 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.