Apple Inc. $AAPL is Maple Capital Management Inc.'s Largest Position

Key Points

• Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 0.5% during the first quarter, bringing its total to 509,560 shares valued at approximately $113.19 million, making it the firm's biggest position.
• Apple's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations with a reported $1.57 EPS and revenue of $94.04 billion, reflecting a 9.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.4%, with a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Maple Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 509,560 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,786 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 8.7% of Maple Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Maple Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $113,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lynx Investment Advisory grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 26,599 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,908,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Kondo Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Kondo Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,677,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $120,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,759 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,945,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 349,317 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $77,594,000 after buying an additional 36,974 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Phillip Securities cut shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $241.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $238.15. 63,364,012 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 45,474,312. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $222.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.