WT Asset Management Ltd Takes Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• WT Asset Management Ltd has made a new investment of $25.35 million in Apple Inc., acquiring 114,100 shares, which constitutes about 3.0% of its total holdings.
• Multiple institutions and hedge funds are increasing their stakes in Apple, highlighting a strong investor interest with a substantial proportion, approximately 67.73%, of the company's stock held by these entities.
• Analysts remain bullish on Apple, with several firms maintaining a buy rating and an average price target set at $237.60, despite the company's stock recently showing a slight decline.

WT Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 114,100 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $25,345,000. Apple accounts for 3.0% of WT Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after buying an additional 59,835,676 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,272,653,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $0.9810 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $229.9090. 20,787,359 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,647,684. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.94.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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 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 directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.