Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC's Largest Position

Key Points

• Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC reduced its stake in Apple by 8.1%, now holding 63,524 shares, which represents the largest portion of its holdings worth about $14.1 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their positions in Apple Inc. during the first quarter, with Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raising its stake by 82.5% to own nearly $15.1 million worth of shares.
• Apple declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.25 to $0.26 and announced a stock buyback plan authorizing the repurchase of up to $100 billion in shares, signaling management's belief in the stock's undervaluation.

Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,524 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,630 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 8.1% of Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $14,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,674,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,746,808. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $205.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 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. 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 earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.94.

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.