Apple Inc. $AAPL is Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 4.2%, making it their 3rd largest position, with shares valued at approximately <$strong>458.65 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Senior Vice President Deirdre O'Brian sold 34,821 shares of Apple at an average price of $223.20, marking a significant decline in her ownership to 136,687 shares.
• Wall Street analysts have set an average target price of $244.66 for Apple's stock, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Moderate Sell" reflecting a generally positive outlook despite some mixed assessments.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,235,466 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 89,436 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 4.1% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $458,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $244.66.

Apple Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $256.87 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm's 50-day moving average is $227.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

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.

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