Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 987,194 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB sold 987,194 shares of Apple Inc., reducing its holdings by 17.3% to 4,733,793 shares, valued at over $1 billion.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Geode Capital Management, have increased their stakes in Apple, reflecting strong institutional support with 67.73% of shares now held by institutional investors.
• Apple recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%, and reported strong quarterly earnings exceeding analyst expectations.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 17.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,733,793 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 987,194 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.2% of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Apple were worth $1,050,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.05.

Apple Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $239.69. 54,829,143 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $219.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.86. 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 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap 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.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.