Belmont Capital LLC Has $77.57 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Belmont Capital LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 309,765 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 55,906 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 12.6% of Belmont Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Belmont Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $77,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. Loop Capital cut their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $196.45. 51,345,532 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,804,401. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $201.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.10. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 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 analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. 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 (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Company 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.