Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 65.1% during the first quarter, now owning 973,700 shares valued at approximately $216.29 million.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $1.57 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $94.04 billion and a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.6%.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, with a current dividend yield of 0.4%.

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 65.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 973,700 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 384,000 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.0% of Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $216,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.8% during 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, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $158,067,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $7.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $236.92. The stock had a trading volume of 15,382,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,496,223. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.