BDF Gestion Purchases New Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 431,516 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $90,886,000. Apple comprises 8.7% of BDF Gestion’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Axim Planning & Wealth bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $232,000. New Harbor Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 351.0% during the 4th quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 2,475 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 3,461 shares during the last quarter. American Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. American Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,981 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. SOL Capital Management CO raised its holdings in Apple by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. SOL Capital Management CO now owns 98,013 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,870,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MA Private Wealth grew its position in shares of Apple by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. MA Private Wealth now owns 14,086 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $229.00 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $221.88 and its 200-day moving average is $195.77.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.30.

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.