Apple Inc. $AAPL is Bristlecone Advisors LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Bristlecone Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 5.7%, holding 203,838 shares after selling 12,244 shares in the first quarter, constituting 3.7% of their investment portfolio.
• Apple's last quarterly earnings beat estimates with an EPS of $1.57 and revenue of $94.04 billion, marking a 9.6% increase from the previous year.
• Several analysts have recently updated their ratings on Apple, with targets ranging from $180 to $255, and an average consensus target price of $239.05.

Bristlecone Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 203,838 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 12,244 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.7% of Bristlecone Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Bristlecone Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $45,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.05.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $239.69. 54,829,143 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $219.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.64.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.