Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Raised by Embree Financial Group

Embree Financial Group grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,375 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 3,378 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 5.0% of Embree Financial Group's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Embree Financial Group's holdings in Apple were worth $30,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Avid Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 28.3% in the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. TruWealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.8% in the first quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,045,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 3,368.2% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $10.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $213.12. 102,898,971 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,348,797. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $205.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.24. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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 the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire 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 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.