Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $222.95 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hartford Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 956,855 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 33,596 shares during the period. Apple comprises 7.3% of Hartford Investment Management Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Apple were worth $222,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 14,145.8% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at $834,368,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,909,457,000 after buying an additional 3,245,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tairen Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $588,952,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $4.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $254.49. 145,580,875 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,671,145. The company has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company's 50-day moving average price is $234.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.70. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $255.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors 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 0.39%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on Apple to $256.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.