Apple Inc. $AAPL is Longbow Finance SA's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Longbow Finance SA has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 34.2%, now owning 215,875 shares valued at approximately $47.95 million.
• Apple reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, with $1.57 EPS surpassing estimates and a 9.6% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Recently announced quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share reflects a 0.4% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Longbow Finance SA decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 34.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,875 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 112,379 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 5.7% of Longbow Finance SA's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Longbow Finance SA's holdings in Apple were worth $47,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Prospect Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Prospect Financial Group LLC now owns 9,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $13,121,000. Freemont Management S.A. raised its holdings in Apple by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 56,400 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 7.4% in the first quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 39,251 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denver PWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 202.1% during the first quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 10,754 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 7,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.05.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple 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 owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $239.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 54,829,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $219.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.86. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.