Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Has $27.87 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 125,455 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 7,462 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.3% of Shepherd Financial Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $27,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $213.88. 38,805,177 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,464,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $204.77 and a 200-day moving average of $214.58. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.