Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Global X Japan Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 10.2% in the first quarter, now owning 162,291 shares valued at approximately $36 million.
• Apple recently announced a $100 billion stock repurchase plan and increased its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.26, reflecting confidence in its stock value.
• Apple's latest earnings report showed a net margin of 24.30% and revenue of $95.36 billion, exceeding analyst expectations.

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 162,291 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 15,070 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.1% of Global X Japan Co. Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $36,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.94.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $212.52. 11,262,509 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,283,719. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $204.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple 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.