Larson Financial Group LLC Acquires 84,631 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 41.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 290,632 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 84,631 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.8% of Larson Financial Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Larson Financial Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $72,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $288,000. Simmons Bank boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 132,641 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $30,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,723,104 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $876,483,000 after purchasing an additional 103,856 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 1.2%

AAPL traded down $2.48 during trading on Monday, hitting $208.78. 45,304,005 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,954,362. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $206.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank lowered Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James cut their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company 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.