CWA Asset Management Group LLC Makes New $118.91 Million Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 510,355 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $118,913,000. Apple makes up 6.3% of CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $233.28 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $240.63 and its 200-day moving average is $230.52. 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 $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. StockNews.com cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Apple to $184.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.85.

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.