Apple Inc. $AAPL is Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.'s 4th Largest Position

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,904 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,689 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.6% of Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $7,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its holdings in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th 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. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.05.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $239.69. 54,829,143 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. The business's 50-day moving average price is $219.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.86. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.37, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

About Apple

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.