Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,146,030 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,935 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $476,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,992,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,794,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $231.59 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th 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, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.60.

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.