Freemont Management S.A. Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Freemont Management S.A. increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 2.5% in the first quarter, owning 56,400 shares valued at approximately $12.53 million.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $1.57 per share, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $94.04 billion, up 9.6% from the previous year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.

Freemont Management S.A. lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,400 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.1% of Freemont Management S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Freemont Management S.A.'s holdings in Apple were worth $12,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $239.05.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $239.69. 54,829,143 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $219.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple 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.