Banco Santander S.A. Boosts Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,075,461 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,977 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.6% of Banco Santander S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Apple were worth $238,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $147,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.05.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $239.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $219.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.