Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Apple Inc. by 12.3% in the first quarter, owning approximately $397.98 million worth of shares, making it the firm's largest position.
• Several analysts have issued favorable ratings on Apple, with price targets reaching as high as $270.00, indicating a strong market sentiment towards the stock.
• Apple recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%, reflecting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,791,655 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 196,610 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.8% of Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $397,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.94 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $237.75. The stock had a trading volume of 26,928,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,577,613. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.07, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $219.28 and a 200 day moving average of $212.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.