Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC Trims Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 44,087 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 373 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.8% of Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 34.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its position in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve 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.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.78.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $251.04 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $251.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $233.09 and its 200 day moving average is $224.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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 return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm 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 business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

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.