Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 114,637 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,557,076 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 114,637 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.6% of Baird Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Apple worth $2,393,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC boosted 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. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was 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 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $2.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $195.64. 38,709,101 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,633,249. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $202.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.66. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.