Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Fiduciary Group LLC's Largest Position

Fiduciary Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 226,443 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 3,909 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.7% of Fiduciary Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Fiduciary Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $56,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 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 valued at $192,700,000 after purchasing an additional 83,997 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.3% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,670,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,308,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,433,000 after buying an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $199.01. 70,744,759 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,305,937. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.20. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple 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.