Grantvest Financial Group LLC Invests $3.37 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Grantvest Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,459 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,370,000. Apple comprises about 3.8% of Grantvest Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $202.28. 29,288,934 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,013,061. The company has a 50 day moving average of $201.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are 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.