Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 219,596 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 20,862 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.0% of Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $48,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gerber LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 9.6% in the first quarter. Gerber LLC now owns 34,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,696,000 after buying an additional 3,043 shares during the period. Invesco LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the first quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 55,361 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,493 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. G2 Capital Management LLC OH grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. G2 Capital Management LLC OH now owns 30,875 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,858,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 21,742 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,830,000 after buying an additional 980 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $9.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $229.35. The stock had a trading volume of 61,316,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,567,168. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm's 50 day moving average is $206.24 and its 200-day moving average is $213.17. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.