Apple Inc. $AAPL is Fidelis Capital Partners LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 236,057 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 13,030 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.2% of Fidelis Capital Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $49,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased 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 valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $158,067,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $232.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $215.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.08. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.37.

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.

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