Highline Wealth Partners LLC Invests $14.99 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 64,330 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $14,989,000. Apple comprises 5.0% of Highline Wealth Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after acquiring an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Apple by 5.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,160,183,000 after buying an additional 2,785,807 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,909,457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245,281 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,291,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 20,008,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,214,222,000 after buying an additional 2,359,409 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $250.42 on Wednesday. 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. The company has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $238.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $228.43.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 35.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 163,435 shares of company stock valued at $39,376,002 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.