Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Invests $15.68 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 62,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $15,681,000. Apple makes up approximately 1.6% of Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in Apple by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,809,212 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,301,966,000 after purchasing an additional 368,114 shares in the last quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 127,972 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $32,047,000 after acquiring an additional 15,446 shares during the last quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 199.0% during the fourth quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 58,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,527,000 after acquiring an additional 116,580 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 272,983 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $68,360,000 after buying an additional 7,149 shares during the period. Finally, Babb Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $437,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank cut Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.80.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $211.26 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $206.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

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.