Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Marest Capital LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Marest Capital LLC lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,982 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,672 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 4.2% of Marest Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Marest Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $5,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $213.88. The stock had a trading volume of 38,805,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,464,392. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.31, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $204.77 and a 200 day moving average of $214.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.94.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.