E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. Has $718,000 Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 78.5% in the first quarter, owning a total of 3,231 shares worth approximately $718,000.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $1.57 EPS, exceeding analysts’ expectations, with revenue of $94.04 billion, marking a 9.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 11th.

E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 78.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,231 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 0.6% of E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $0.83 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $204.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,744,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,777,820. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $205.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.17. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

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

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given 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 is Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.25.

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.