Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s Largest Position

Windward Capital Management Co. CA grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,024,219 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,284 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 18.2% of Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Apple were worth $238,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Maxim Group raised their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.85.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $233.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $240.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.52.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

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.