Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Slow Capital Inc.

Key Points

• Slow Capital Inc. increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 21.1% during the first quarter, owning a total of 106,542 shares worth approximately $23.67 million.
• Apple reported $1.57 per share in earnings for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 24.3% and a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.6%.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.4%, and a dividend payout ratio of 15.78%.

Slow Capital Inc. grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,542 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 18,528 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.2% of Slow Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Slow Capital Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $23,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $147,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.37.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $232.14. The company had a trading volume of 39,382,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,684,536. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $215.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.71.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple 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.