Courage Miller Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Courage Miller Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,956 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 0.8% of Courage Miller Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Courage Miller Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Asset Planning Corporation increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,777,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $169.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.80 and a 52-week high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.08.

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.