Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Wall Street Financial Group Inc.

Wall Street Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 59.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,937 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.1% of Wall Street Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Wall Street Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its position in Apple by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $2.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $230.73. The company had a trading volume of 31,276,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,842,020. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $209.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.37. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.01, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.