Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,614,764 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 214,083 shares during the period. Apple comprises 6.0% of QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $580,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Avid Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 28.3% during the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the first quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 34,474 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,658,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.5% in the first quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 21.9% in the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 198,810 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $44,162,000 after buying an additional 35,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.8% in the first quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 21,725 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,826,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $214.56. The company had a trading volume of 7,019,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,507,688. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.96. 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 quarterly 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in 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 often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays set a $173.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.11.

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.