Apple Inc. $AAPL is General Partner Inc.'s 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• General Partner Inc. reduced its position in Apple Inc. by 3.5% in the second quarter, retaining 69,723 shares which now makes up 8.4% of its portfolio, valued at approximately $14.3 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group and Norges Bank, have increased their stakes in Apple recently, with hedge funds and institutional investors owning 67.73% of the stock.
• Analyst ratings for Apple include two "Strong Buy" ratings, with a consensus target price of $241.93 and a current stock price of $237.88.

General Partner Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,723 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,525 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 8.4% of General Partner Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. General Partner Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $14,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $7.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $245.50. 163,435,991 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,568,860. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company's 50 day moving average price is $224.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $242.74.

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.