Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $322.76 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 5.4% in Q1, owning approximately $322.76 million worth of shares, equivalent to 1.2% of its portfolio.
• Apple recently reported Q2 earnings with a revenue of $94.04 billion, exceeding estimates, and its quarterly dividend paid was $0.26 with a yield of 0.4%.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Apple, with a target price of approximately $237.60, reflecting a range of buy, hold, and sell ratings issued by various firms.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,453,031 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 74,105 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 1.2% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $322,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the fourth 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 worth $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded down $0.9810 on Tuesday, hitting $229.9090. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,787,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,647,684. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $210.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.94. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. 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 presently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

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.