Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $184.86 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 901,021 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 15,641 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.9% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $184,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of AAPL opened at $254.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AAPL. BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $205.82 to $205.16 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.29.

Apple Company 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.