Aprio Wealth Management LLC Acquires 4,389 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 7.8% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 60,611 shares worth approximately $13.46 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently acquired positions in Apple, with 67.73% of the stock now owned by these entities.
• Wall Street analysts generally maintain positive outlooks for Apple, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.80.

Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,611 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,389 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.7% of Aprio Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Aprio Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $13,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $311,157,662,000 after buying an additional 5,005,297 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded up $4.04 on Friday, hitting $234.07. 55,768,555 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 45,223,864. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $221.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.80.

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.