Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 439,163 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 439,163 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $109,975,000. Apple comprises approximately 3.5% of Cary Street Partners Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 24,931.3% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 10,368,233 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,596,413,000 after purchasing an additional 10,326,812 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded down $2.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $195.64. 38,709,101 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,633,249. The company's fifty day moving average price is $202.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.66. The stock has a market capitalization 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 quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. 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 earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

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.