S Bank Fund Management Ltd Invests $27.43 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

S Bank Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 133,689 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $27,429,000. Apple comprises 4.0% of S Bank Fund Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avid Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% in the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,107,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 209.2% during the 1st quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plum Street Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Plum Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,889 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,752,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $272.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $277.32. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.84.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Melius raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Melius Research set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

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.