GR Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 38.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,828 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 4,421 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 0.5% of GR Financial Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. GR Financial Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $3,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Financial Network Corp raised its stake in Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Apple Price Performance
Shares of Apple stock traded down $4.2250 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $226.3350. 21,412,486 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,531,371. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $210.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.06. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Apple Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.60.
View Our Latest Research Report on AAPL
About Apple
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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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