Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Raised by RiverFront Investment Group LLC

RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 449,044 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 52,428 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.6% of RiverFront Investment Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. RiverFront Investment Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $112,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 123,487 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,773,000 after acquiring an additional 2,333 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,934,005 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,149,623,000 after acquiring an additional 85,685 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 4,822,803 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,123,713,000 after acquiring an additional 51,495 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,365,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 9,583,232 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,232,893,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475,580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.02.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $3.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $203.92. 46,477,335 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,154,463. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $201.17 and a 200-day moving average of $224.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 believes its stock is undervalued.

About Apple

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.