Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd

Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6,850,100.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,502 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 68,501 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 10.0% of Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $39,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 205,656,808 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Apple by 27.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 68,190,569 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,870,795,000 after buying an additional 14,651,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake 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 worth $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.6%

Apple stock opened at $275.92 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $277.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.87, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $260.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm 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 was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Melius raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.22.

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.