Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Has $4.83 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,725 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 1.3% of Precedent Wealth Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank cut Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.11.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $214.56. 7,019,281 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,507,688. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business's 50-day moving average is $204.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.96.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.