Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Sells 1,483,475 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,603,136 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,483,475 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.8% of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,849,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 9,270,449 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,795,668,000 after acquiring an additional 119,342 shares during the last quarter. Smith Salley & Associates boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Smith Salley & Associates now owns 472,447 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $90,960,000 after purchasing an additional 13,039 shares during the period. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,229,000. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323,639 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,310,000 after purchasing an additional 4,006 shares during the period. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 407,409 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $78,438,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $173.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $172.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.77. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $189.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.62.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last 90 days. 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.