Banco Santander S.A. Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 7.8%, holding approximately 1,075,461 shares valued at $238.9 million, making it the firm's 7th largest position.
• Institutional investors now own 67.73% of Apple's stock, reflecting increased interest from various funds acquiring stakes in the company throughout the last quarter.
• Apple reported earnings of $1.57 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a net income margin of 24.30% and revenue of $94.04 billion.

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,075,461 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 77,977 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.6% of Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Apple were worth $238,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 471,257 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $104,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc. now owns 157,745 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $35,040,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Privium Fund Management UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,131,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Apple by 12.3% in the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,791,655 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $397,980,000 after purchasing an additional 196,610 shares during the period. Finally, Barings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Barings LLC now owns 18,445 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,097,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.8%

AAPL traded down $1.94 during trading on Monday, hitting $237.75. 26,928,241 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,577,613. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.07, 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, 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 payout ratio is 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Moffett Nathanson raised Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $238.99.

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.