Cornerstone Planning Group LLC Has $6.06 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 8.3% during the first quarter, now holding 29,604 shares valued at approximately $6 million.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Apple, with **Raymond James** projecting a target of **$240.00** while **Goldman Sachs** set their target at **$266.00**, reflecting a mix of hold and buy ratings on the stock.
• Apple recently announced a quarterly dividend of **$0.26** and initiated a **$100 billion** stock repurchase plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,604 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.4% of Cornerstone Planning Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $6,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 13.5% during the first quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,259 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 221,261 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $49,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Financial Symmetry Inc boosted its position in Apple by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Symmetry Inc now owns 11,806 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,622,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,181 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,035,000 after buying an additional 3,581 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $232.14. 39,382,353 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 58,935,340. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.16. The company's fifty day moving average is $215.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.08.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's 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 completion of 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 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 insiders.

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.