Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Reliant Investment Management LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Reliant Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,099 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.1% of Reliant Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Reliant Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple 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 in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group set a $210.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.95.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $213.36 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.44. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

About Apple

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.