Greystone Financial Group LLC Buys 6,443 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Greystone Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 6,443 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.9% of Greystone Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HF Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Apple by 7.5% during the first quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,604 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 171.1% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 594,303 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $101,911,000 after purchasing an additional 375,070 shares in the last quarter. Family Investment Center Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Family Investment Center Inc. now owns 9,171 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,573,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 227,647 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $39,037,000 after buying an additional 3,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler Companies cut shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.62.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $3.17 on Tuesday, reaching $170.33. 65,843,830 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 60,583,082. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $172.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.95%.

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.