Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Kozak & Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 1.8%, now owning 91,825 shares worth approximately $19.39 million, making it the 11th largest position in their portfolio.
• Several hedge funds, including First National Bank of Hutchinson and Brighton Jones LLC, significantly increased their stakes in Apple during the fourth quarter, reflecting strong institutional interest with 67.73% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have a consensus Moderate Buy rating for Apple, with a recent average price target set at $245.66, following positive earnings reports that showed a revenue increase of 9.6% year-over-year.

Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,825 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,621 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.0% of Kozak & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Kozak & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $19,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.66.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $255.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $228.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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