S&CO Inc. Has $54.31 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• S&CO Inc. has reduced its position in Apple Inc. by 10.5%, now holding 244,503 shares, valued at approximately $54.31 million.
• Apple reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, surpassing estimates by $0.14, with revenue of $94.04 billion, marking a 9.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.4% and a dividend payout ratio of 15.78%.

S&CO Inc. lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 244,503 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 28,580 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.6% of S&CO Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. S&CO Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $54,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth about $95,694,000. RD Finance Ltd bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth about $955,000. FSA Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 19.2% in the first quarter. FSA Advisors Inc. now owns 9,169 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,037,000 after buying an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 19.3% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,097,110 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $687,961,000 after buying an additional 500,703 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 74.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281,729 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,580,000 after buying an additional 120,663 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $239.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $239.69. 54,829,143 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $219.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.64. 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 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) 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. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

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.