Apple Inc. $AAPL is Marathon Capital Management’s 6th Largest Position

Marathon Capital Management lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,820 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,452 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.9% of Marathon Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Marathon Capital Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,496 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 99,610 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,080,000 after purchasing an additional 4,318 shares in the last quarter. Bravias Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Bravias Capital Group LLC now owns 9,924 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 110,719 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $30,100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TBH Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 243,368 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $66,162,000 after purchasing an additional 31,168 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.74.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $308.82 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $269.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $311.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Apple Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.