Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is DLK Investment Management LLC's Largest Position

Key Points

• DLK Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 2.3%, owning 69,462 shares after selling 1,657 shares during the first quarter, making Apple its largest holding.
• Apple reported $1.57 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates of $1.43, with revenues of $94.04 billion, a 9.6% increase year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.5%, alongside a $100 billion stock buyback program to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares.

DLK Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,462 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,657 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 6.5% of DLK Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. DLK Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $15,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $140,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was 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. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Apple Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of AAPL traded up $9.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $229.35. The company had a trading volume of 113,661,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,719,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $206.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.14. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.