Banque Pictet & Cie SA Decreases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Banque Pictet & Cie SA has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 5.5%, now owning 393,221 shares worth approximately $87.3 million, making it the company's 22nd largest holding.
• Apple's stock recently hit $232.56, with an increased trading volume, and the company boasts a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion.
• The tech giant announced a $100 billion stock repurchase program as part of its strategy, indicating that management views the stock as undervalued.

Banque Pictet & Cie SA cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 393,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 22,764 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 0.7% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in Apple were worth $87,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the first quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,701 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,932,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Slagle Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the first quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 48,901 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,862,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs grew its holdings in Apple by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs now owns 17,964 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,990,000 after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 29,604 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,057,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,259 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.37.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

Apple stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $232.14. The stock had a trading volume of 39,382,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,935,340. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $215.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.08. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business'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 value 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. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.