Banque de Luxembourg S.A. Takes $10.48 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Banque de Luxembourg S.A. acquired a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 41,669 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $10,477,000. Apple makes up about 5.6% of Banque de Luxembourg S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,868,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 24,931.3% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 10,368,233 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,596,413,000 after purchasing an additional 10,326,812 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $196.45 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $201.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.