Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297,606 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 15,087 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.6% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Apple were worth $66,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,992,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,794,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $1.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $214.16. 25,198,720 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,032,198. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $204.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.