Richelieu Gestion SA Acquires 10,099 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Richelieu Gestion SA lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 111.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,121 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 10,099 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.4% of Richelieu Gestion SA’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Richelieu Gestion SA’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its position in Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $216.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $196.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.71.

Apple Stock Up 2.9 %

AAPL stock opened at $216.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $192.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.31. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $220.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.