Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Everest Management Corp.'s 10th Largest Position

Everest Management Corp. raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,372 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.3% of Everest Management Corp.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Everest Management Corp.'s holdings in Apple were worth $2,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after acquiring an additional 59,835,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.6%

Apple stock traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $211.16. The stock had a trading volume of 39,713,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,349,236. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $203.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $217.12. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.27.

About Apple

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.