J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys 21,013 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 4.3% in Q1, owning 504,183 shares valued at approximately $111.81 million.
• Apple's recent quarterly earnings beat analyst expectations, reporting $1.57 EPS and $94.04 billion in revenue, reflecting a 9.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26, translating to an annualized rate of $1.04 and a dividend yield of 0.4%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 504,183 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 21,013 shares during the period. Apple comprises 2.0% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Apple were worth $111,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. 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 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $1.94 on Monday, hitting $237.75. 26,928,241 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,577,613. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $219.28 and a 200 day moving average of $212.40. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week 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.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has 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 an average price target of $238.99.

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.