Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Trims Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 285,992 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 29,651 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.5% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Apple were worth $60,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its stake in Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 100.6% during the fourth quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 83,965 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value 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 $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of Apple 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $227.79 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $222.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.16. The company has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. KeyCorp restated a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.76.

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.