Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s 7th Largest Position

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 57.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 131,821 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 48,099 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.9% of Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $27,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP raised its holdings in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $208,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $231.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $226.86 and its 200-day moving average is $210.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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 report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.91.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.