Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Sells 20,862 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 219,596 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 20,862 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $140,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.25.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of AAPL traded up $10.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $213.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 102,898,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,348,797. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50-day moving average is $205.58 and its 200-day moving average is $213.24. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is 15.78%.

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

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.