AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Buys New Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 553,689 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $122,991,000. Apple accounts for 7.0% of AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs’ portfolio, making the stock its largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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 sale, the senior vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $238.15 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $222.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.17. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11. 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.77.

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.