Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s Largest Position

Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,084 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,886 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.9% of Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $288,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its holdings in Apple by 12.8% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after acquiring an additional 28,799 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc grew its position in shares of Apple by 10.1% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,501,000 after purchasing an additional 34,414 shares during the last quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 32.9% in the third quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares during the period. Finally, Simmons Bank lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 132,641 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $30,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $205.35 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $212.15 and its 200-day moving average is $228.61.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.