EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $513.31 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,049,802 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 24,497 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.2% of EP Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $513,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.6% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 73,945 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $17,229,000 after buying an additional 5,231 shares during the period. SMART Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.6% in the third quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 14,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,397,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. SK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $3,304,000. Penney Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.6% in the third quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 7,852 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,829,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 11,509 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,882,000 after buying an additional 838 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. China Renaissance began 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, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded down $2.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $195.64. The company had a trading volume of 38,432,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,632,706. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $202.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.66. The company has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

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.