Generali Investments Management Co LLC Buys 8,098 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Generali Investments Management Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,581 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,098 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.4% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $39,065,374,000 after buying an additional 205,656,808 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $17,472,482,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 27.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 68,190,569 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,870,795,000 after purchasing an additional 14,651,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $278.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $266.03 and a 200-day moving average of $234.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.09.

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.