EULAV Asset Management Sells 3,962 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

EULAV Asset Management lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 56,048 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,962 shares during the period. EULAV Asset Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 7,460 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 311,144 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,905,000 after purchasing an additional 7,275 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 42,687 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,219,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $749,000. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC raised its stake in Apple by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Maxim Group boosted their target price on Apple from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Apple from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Apple from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.63.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $226.84 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $220.32 and its 200 day moving average is $194.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its 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. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.