Mather Group LLC. Buys 23,926 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Mather Group LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 11.6%, acquiring an additional 23,926 shares, which brings their total to 230,437 shares valued at approximately $51.2 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their stakes in Apple, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which increased its holdings by 25,934.1% in the first quarter, now owning 60 million shares worth around $133.4 billion.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Apple's stock, with Bank of America raising its target from $240 to $250 and overall consensus showing a "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target price of $237.60.

Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230,437 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 23,926 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 0.6% of Mather Group LLC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Mather Group LLC.'s holdings in Apple were worth $51,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.60.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.9810 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $229.9090. The stock had a trading volume of 20,787,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,647,684. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $210.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.