Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Lowered by Marathon Capital Management

Key Points

• Marathon Capital Management reduced its Apple stake by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,452 shares and ending with 48,820 shares valued at about $13.27 million.
• Apple’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $2.01 versus the $1.95 consensus and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on Apple, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $308.74, while several firms recently raised targets or reiterated bullish ratings.

Marathon Capital Management cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,820 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,452 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.9% of Marathon Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Marathon Capital Management's holdings in Apple were worth $13,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.74.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $308.82 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $269.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $311.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

About Apple

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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