Howard Capital Management Group LLC Has $93.99 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 446,245 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,012 shares during the period. Apple makes up 6.9% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $93,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth about $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 100.6% in the fourth quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 83,965 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $220.91 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $223.17 and a 200-day moving average of $197.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. Melius Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 5th. Loop Capital raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.62.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.