Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lifted by Hartford Funds Management Co LLC

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,627 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,366 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 0.5% of Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after acquiring an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,473,224,000 after acquiring an additional 126,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $236.00 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.82, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $241.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.84. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.