Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,910,937 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 422,646 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.9% of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,116,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the second quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 289,507 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Apple by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 583,048 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $122,802,000 after purchasing an additional 20,160 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,241,000. New England Research & Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 36,253 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,636,000 after acquiring an additional 3,551 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 289,575 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,990,000 after acquiring an additional 2,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $258.20 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $235.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.47, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $258.21.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reduced their price target on Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. 0.06% of the stock is 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.