Apple Inc. $AAPL is Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s Largest Position

Key Points

• Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. increased its position in Apple Inc. by 3.7%, owning 148,755 shares valued at approximately $33.4 million, making it the firm’s largest holding.
• Apple's recent earnings report indicated a EPS of $1.57, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.43, and the company reported a quarterly revenue of $94.04 billion.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with a yield of 0.4%, and a payout ratio of 15.78% as of the latest reporting period.

Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,755 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,315 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 9.7% of Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $33,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospect Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Prospect Financial Group LLC now owns 9,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at about $13,121,000. Freemont Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.5% during the first quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 56,400 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,528,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 7.4% in the first quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 39,251 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denver PWM LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 202.1% in the first quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 10,754 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 7,194 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $239.05.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $239.69. 54,829,143 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $219.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.86. The company has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.