Bellecapital International Ltd. Buys 4,079 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,254 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,079 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.2% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. M&G PLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 292,852 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $68,235,000 after purchasing an additional 87,242 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Investors Network Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Prudent Investors Network Inc. now owns 8,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Architects LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Architects LLC now owns 182,203 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,453,000 after purchasing an additional 12,052 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,721,000. Finally, Baugh & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 70,363 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Apple Trading Up 0.5%

AAPL opened at $198.53 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $208.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.33.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict 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 allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.20%.

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.