Apple Inc. $AAPL Holdings Lifted by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 504,183 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 21,013 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.0% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Apple were worth $111,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Salus Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Disciplined Investments LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Sharpepoint LLC increased its stake in Apple by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its stake in Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $239.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $219.28 and its 200 day moving average is $212.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company 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.