Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by RWQ Financial Management Services Inc.

RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 42.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,272 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,629 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 10.5% of RWQ Financial Management Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after buying an additional 2,018,010 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Apple by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826,709 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Apple by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 38,579,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,605,195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696,576 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,519,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,020,609,000 after acquiring an additional 287,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.5% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,616,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,502,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,430 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Maxim Group began coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.3 %

AAPL stock opened at $169.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $173.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

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.