Apple Inc. $AAPL is Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s.'s 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Generali Investments CEE has increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 7.8%, making it the company's 8th largest position, with a total worth of approximately $14.996 million.
• Apple's recent earnings surpassed analysts' expectations with an EPS of $1.57, leading to a revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter—up 9.6% year over year.
• The company has initiated a $100 billion share repurchase program, indicating that leadership believes its stock is undervalued amidst positive analyst ratings.

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,511 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 4,891 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.4% of Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s.'s holdings in Apple were worth $14,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.86 on Friday, reaching $227.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 42,431,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The stock's 50-day moving average is $212.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.09. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.98.

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.