Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $2.53 Billion Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,751,626 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 307,990 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.4% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,532,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 890.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Sept. 9 product event is generating significant interest under new CEO John Ternus, with expectations for new iPhones, an Apple Watch update and potentially the company’s first foldable iPhone. Citi estimates the foldable device could sell 7.3 million units despite a possible price above $2,000. Citi foldable iPhone sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed strong momentum, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year and earnings exceeding analyst expectations. Morgan Stanley has also suggested the foldable iPhone could contribute roughly $14 billion in December-quarter revenue if successfully launched. Morgan Stanley foldable iPhone estimate
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has succeeded Tim Cook as CEO, while Cook remains executive chairman. The transition offers continuity through a longtime Apple executive but raises questions about whether Ternus can accelerate Apple’s artificial-intelligence strategy and sustain Cook-era growth. John Ternus becomes Apple CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate initial foldable iPhone production was only a few hundred units per day in late August. Tight quality controls and memory shortages could limit launch supply, delay purchases and prevent Apple from fully capturing expected demand. Foldable iPhone production hurdles
• Negative Sentiment: Memory costs have reportedly surged, potentially forcing Apple to raise iPhone prices, absorb lower margins or risk weaker demand. Jefferies has also downgraded AAPL amid skepticism about the foldable product’s market potential. iPhone memory cost concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a $2.7 billion UK lawsuit over alleged unfair app-tracking rules and a separate BASF patent lawsuit involving facial-authentication technology, adding regulatory and litigation risk. Apple UK app-tracking lawsuit

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total value of $456,177.39. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares in the company, valued at $11,345,787.90. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,872 shares of company stock valued at $1,823,201. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.61.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $319.97 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $315.65 and its 200 day moving average is $290.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.95 and a 12 month high of $344.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.