Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Has $36.69 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 157,464 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,643 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.7% of Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $36,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,160,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,807 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,909,457,000 after buying an additional 3,245,281 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,291,583,000 after buying an additional 1,065,759 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Apple by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 20,008,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,214,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.3% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 16,745,201 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,526,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557,848 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $249.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.06. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $254.28. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Apple 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.