Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Boosted by Banque Transatlantique SA

Key Points

• Banque Transatlantique SA significantly increased its stake in Apple Inc., acquiring 3,258,726 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately 4.5 million shares valued at about $925.5 million.
• Despite a recent stock sale by an Apple senior vice president, the company continues to have strong institutional support, with 67.73% of Apple shares held by institutional investors.
• Apple's recent earnings report showed a 9.6% revenue increase year-over-year, with earnings per share of $1.57, exceeding analyst expectations.

Banque Transatlantique SA raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 260.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,508,384 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,258,726 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 17.3% of Banque Transatlantique SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Banque Transatlantique SA's holdings in Apple were worth $925,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Apple by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 28,191,897 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,262,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613,031 shares during the period. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the first quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 1,430,244 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $317,700,000 after purchasing an additional 20,275 shares in the last quarter. Alexis Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the first quarter. Alexis Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,173 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. AlphaQ Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 10.8% in the first quarter. AlphaQ Advisors LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Apple by 315.3% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 430,555 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $95,639,000 after purchasing an additional 630,555 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 1.8%

AAPL traded up $4.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $234.07. The company had a trading volume of 55,768,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,223,864. 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 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $221.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.39.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.80.

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.