Apple Inc. $AAPL is Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 3.0%, selling 245,840 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 8 million shares, valued at about $1.78 billion.
• Recent analyst ratings for Apple show a mix of outlooks, with two strong buy, fifteen buy, and eleven hold ratings, providing an average target price of $237.37.
• Apple recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%, with a dividend payout ratio of 15.78%.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,033,962 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 245,840 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.0% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.05% of Apple worth $1,784,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $158,067,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $232.14. 39,382,353 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 58,935,340. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.91. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16.

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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.37.

Apple Company 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.