Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,561,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 42,904 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 4.2% of Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,346,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Melius lifted their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $226.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up from $245.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $275.92 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $260.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $277.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.