Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Increases Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Checchi Capital Advisers LLC has increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 2.8%, now owning 191,279 shares valued at approximately $42.49 million, making it the firm's largest holding.
• Apple reported strong quarterly earnings, achieving $1.57 EPS and $94.04 billion in revenue, which exceeded analysts' expectations, showing a year-over-year revenue growth of 9.6%.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with a total annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 15.78%.

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 191,279 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 5,179 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.2% of Checchi Capital Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $42,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 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 link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.98.

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.