Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $322.76 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,453,031 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 74,105 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 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 reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $231.59 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $209.69 and its 200-day moving average is $213.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G 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. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.