Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $2.83 Billion Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,772,568 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 718,702 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.9% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.09% of Apple worth $2,833,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $234.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.56, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $220.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.50. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.99.

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.