Griffith & Werner Inc. Buys 2,390 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Griffith & Werner Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,975 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,390 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.7% of Griffith & Werner Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Griffith & Werner Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $5,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111,858 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $28,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 164.6% during the fourth quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 3,472 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.7%

AAPL stock opened at $209.95 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $203.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $170.62 to $188.32 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group set a $210.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.