Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ Takes Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ invested approximately $27.26 million in Apple Inc., acquiring 122,714 shares, making Apple its second largest position at 27.1% of their portfolio.
• Apple recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, resulting in an annualized total of $1.04 and a yield of 0.4%.
• Despite varied ratings from analysts, Apple maintains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $237.60.

Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 122,714 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $27,258,000. Apple makes up 27.1% of Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Red Lighthouse Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 5.8% during the first quarter. Red Lighthouse Investment Management LLC now owns 93,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $20,776,000 after purchasing an additional 5,086 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 2,146,030 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $476,698,000 after purchasing an additional 66,935 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 7.1% during the first quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 63,529 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,112,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197 shares in the last quarter. Hapanowicz & Associates Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Apple by 18.8% during the first quarter. Hapanowicz & Associates Financial Services Inc now owns 3,542 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.1% during the first quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 255,009 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $56,645,000 after purchasing an additional 5,129 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group upped 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. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $1.1370 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $229.7530. 23,261,262 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,655,609. The business has a 50 day moving average of $210.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.94. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.86, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.