Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Bellecapital International Ltd.'s Largest Position

Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure 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 period. Apple comprises approximately 5.2% of Bellecapital International Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Bellecapital International Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $29,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,308,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Apple by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,463,971 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $366,608,000 after purchasing an additional 365,309 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Apple by 53.2% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107,036 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,804,000 after purchasing an additional 37,183 shares in the last quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. now owns 143,440 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $36,051,000 after buying an additional 6,533 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 126,900 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $31,778,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.14 on Tuesday, hitting $212.93. 51,637,380 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,107,660. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $207.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.19.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.