Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Convergence Financial LLC

Convergence Financial LLC grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,205 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,588 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.8% of Convergence Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Convergence Financial LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $8,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.1% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,188 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,481,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244 shares during the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 35,926,849 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,980,431,000 after buying an additional 118,741 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 5.7% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC now owns 6,476 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,439,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 0.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Advisors Inc. now owns 40,656 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $9,031,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $230.73. 31,276,517 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,842,020. 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 $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $209.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 posted $1.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.60.

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.