Epiq Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Epiq Partners LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,765 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.0% of Epiq Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Epiq Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111,858 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,012,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its position in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC raised its position in Apple by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smart Money Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,826,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.95.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $213.36 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $203.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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.