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

Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,821 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 851 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.8% of Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Headinvest LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,236,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 75,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,461,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of Apple by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 4,307,068 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $829,240,000 after purchasing an additional 279,311 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 37,178 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,158,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 673,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $115,284,000 after buying an additional 24,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price objective (up from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $183.05 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $172.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 14.93%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.