Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Mcdonald Partners LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Mcdonald Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,499 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,028 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.5% of Mcdonald Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Mcdonald Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its position in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its position in Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $220.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $220.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.44.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Melius Research increased their price objective on Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

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.