Artal Group S.A. Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Artal Group S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,000 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,715,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush lifted their price target on Apple from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.0 %

AAPL stock opened at $226.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.