Towercrest Capital Management Purchases 3,331 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Towercrest Capital Management boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,713 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 3,331 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.5% of Towercrest Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Towercrest Capital Management's holdings in Apple were worth $15,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $202.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,288,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,013,061. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. 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 moving average of $201.99 and a 200-day moving average of $224.54.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.