HCR Wealth Advisors Boosts Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

HCR Wealth Advisors grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 536,830 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,424 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 14.3% of HCR Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its largest position. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $138,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,415,932,804 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $290,506,933,000 after buying an additional 15,141,995 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $123,358,461,000 after acquiring an additional 5,224,229 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $72,506,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942,638 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $39,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 205,656,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at $38,942,255,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $271.84 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $269.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wedbush set a $350.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. CLSA increased their price objective on Apple from $265.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.92.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, 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 the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.