Northstar Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Northstar Group Inc. trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,461 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,068 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.5% of Northstar Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Northstar Group Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $33,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.1% in the first quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 10,494 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,331,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the first quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 129,612 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $28,791,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 15.2% in the first quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,889 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,972,000 after buying an additional 4,739 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 122.6% in the first quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 30,283 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,727,000 after buying an additional 16,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 9.9% in the first quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 200,475 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $44,532,000 after purchasing an additional 18,103 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays set a $173.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Apple stock traded down $0.39 on Thursday, hitting $213.76. The stock had a trading volume of 45,923,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,703,220. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $204.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.96.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.