Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 1,210 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its Apple Inc. holdings by 5.1% in the first quarter, now owning 25,048 shares worth approximately $5.56 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds hold 67.73% of Apple's stock, with significant increases from groups such as GAMMA Investing LLC and Vanguard Group Inc.
• Apple announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.26 per share, along with a $100 billion share repurchase plan, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,048 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 0.8% of Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $5,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.53 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $212.52. 10,429,226 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,283,719. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $204.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.22. 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 data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. 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 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business'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 value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.94.

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.