RNC Capital Management LLC Buys 6,888 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

RNC Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,794 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 6,888 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.9% of RNC Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. RNC Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $35,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Apple by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Apple by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after buying an additional 5,893,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 20,372.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 4.1 %

AAPL traded up $7.73 on Friday, reaching $198.15. 87,256,357 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,952,296. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $222.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.14.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $240.26.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.