BTG Pactual Global Asset Management Ltd Grows Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

BTG Pactual Global Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 125.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,027 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,252 shares during the period. BTG Pactual Global Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Wolf Group Capital Advisors raised its holdings in Apple by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors now owns 40,306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Crane Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Crane Advisory LLC now owns 16,655 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,018,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Landmark Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Landmark Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,446 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 129.2% in the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 9,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 5,362 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 188,884 shares of company stock worth $38,092,387. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Apple from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.63.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $225.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.40. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.