Cynosure Group LLC Has $2.43 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cynosure Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 46.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,716 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 8,531 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Allstate Corp boosted its position in Apple by 3,368.2% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $113,062,000 after acquiring an additional 438,471 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Apple by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $192,700,000 after acquiring an additional 83,997 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,433,000 after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $198.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,546,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,449,083. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

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.