Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 321,725 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 30,475 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.7% of Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $71,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111,858 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,012,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 119,262 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $29,866,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. R.H. Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,375,000. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc now owns 23,123 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,790,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covea Finance increased its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 535,442 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,085,000 after purchasing an additional 62,960 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $201.08. The stock had a trading volume of 73,073,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,462,167. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $202.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.39.

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.