Interchange Capital Partners LLC Has $10.12 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Interchange Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,440 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 631 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.6% of Interchange Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Interchange Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $201.70 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.84.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy 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 shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank cut Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of 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 trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently 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.