Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Uptick Partners LLC

Uptick Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 43.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,934 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.3% of Uptick Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Uptick Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its holdings in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $272.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $277.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $255.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.41.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

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.