Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,195 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,482 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.8% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen cut 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. Barclays set a $173.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. 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. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.27.

Apple Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $210.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $204.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 0.49%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.