Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Lifted by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,920,446 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 140,969 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.9% of Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,379,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after acquiring an additional 7,606 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,473,224,000 after acquiring an additional 126,210 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 5.2% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,928,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $406,099,000 after acquiring an additional 95,235 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $242.21 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.64.

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.