Generate Investment Management Ltd Boosts Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Generate Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 182,160 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 5,618 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.8% of Generate Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Generate Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $40,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $9.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $229.35. 113,661,399 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,968,961. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $206.24 and a 200-day moving average of $213.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.