Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Raised by GR Financial Group LLC

GR Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,407 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 0.5% of GR Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. GR Financial Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $24,566,054,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156,680 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 4,512,899 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,130,120,000 after purchasing an additional 25,274 shares during the period. James Reed Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,264,000. NBW Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 84,786 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $21,232,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. Finally, Scratch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush lowered shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $212.33. The stock had a trading volume of 49,235,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,032,102. 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 twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Company 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.