Ninety One UK Ltd Has $597.43 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,836,538 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 426,962 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.6% of Ninety One UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $597,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 19,005 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,003,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Altus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,508 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP grew its holdings in Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the first quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Whitcomb & Hess Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the second quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 3,540 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Erste Group Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.17.

Apple Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $228.20 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

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.