HWG Holdings LP Takes Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 69,004 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $14,534,000. Apple comprises 5.3% of HWG Holdings LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marmo Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 56.5% during the first quarter. Marmo Financial Group LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 2.5% during the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,763 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $834,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 63,356 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,864,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the first quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 104,140 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,858,000 after buying an additional 1,683 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 127.4% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,943,000 after purchasing an additional 42,282 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $225.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.01, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James increased their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.51.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 35.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.