Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Trimmed by Ellis Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Ellis Investment Partners LLC has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 1.7%, leaving it with approximately 95,565 shares, which are now valued at $21.2 million.
• Apple reported a quarterly revenue of $94.04 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.5% and a dividend payout ratio of 16.2%.

Ellis Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,565 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,662 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.4% of Ellis Investment Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Ellis Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $21,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,992,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy 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 $237.25.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $5.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $202.38. The company had a trading volume of 97,423,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,912,472. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $205.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.17.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 172.48% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.