Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Purchases 30,577 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter, now holding 192,868 shares valued at approximately $39.57 million.
• Insider Deirdre O'Brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock on August 8th, representing a 20.30% decrease in her ownership.
• Apple reported a 9.6% revenue increase year-over-year for its last quarter, with earnings of $1.57 per share, surpassing analyst expectations.

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 192,868 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 30,577 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.0% of Global X Japan Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $39,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

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

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $255.46 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $228.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.66.

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.

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