Newport Capital Group LLC Has $1.60 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Newport Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,182 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.1% of Newport Capital Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Newport Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Apple by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank cut Apple to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $211.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.