CWC Advisors LLC. Takes Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

CWC Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 24,707 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,757,000. Apple comprises approximately 5.7% of CWC Advisors LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $206,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $258.20 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $258.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $235.45 and its 200-day moving average is $226.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued 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 0.39%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Moffett Nathanson reduced their target price on Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Apple to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.78.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. 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.