Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Increased by Cowa LLC

Cowa LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,259 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 961 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.1% of Cowa LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Cowa LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $237.87 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $240.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.52.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.85.

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.