Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes $2.70 Billion Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 10,784,183 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,700,575,000. Apple accounts for 5.3% of Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.07% of Apple at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,868,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 23,555.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 2.2%

AAPL opened at $201.00 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $202.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

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.

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