Guinness Asset Management LTD Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 5.3%, now holding 178,541 shares valued at approximately $39.6 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• The company reported earnings of $1.57 per share for its last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and attributed to a 9.6% revenue growth year-over-year.
• Apple's recent dividend was paid at $0.26 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.04 and a yield of 0.4%.

Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 178,541 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 8,957 shares during the quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings in Apple were worth $39,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $236.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $222.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.99. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.92, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.80.

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.

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