Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,033,962 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 245,840 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.0% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.05% of Apple worth $1,784,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.37.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $232.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.91. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results 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. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Apple Company 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.