Massachusetts Wealth Management Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Massachusetts Wealth Management purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 21,693 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $4,451,000. Apple makes up about 2.5% of Massachusetts Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $270.37 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $277.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $248.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $203.07 to $246.99 in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.39.

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.