QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,614,764 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 214,083 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 6.0% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $580,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $212.48 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $204.57 and a 200-day moving average of $215.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.11.

Insider Activity at Apple

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

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.