Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 696,388 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments boosted its Apple stake by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 696,388 shares and bringing its total holdings to 7,226,979 shares valued at about $1.96 billion.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 beating estimates and revenue of $111.18 billion topping expectations, while quarterly revenue rose 16.6% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, and analysts remain constructive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.74.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,226,979 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 696,388 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.5% of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $1,964,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $311,157,662,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005,297 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $123,358,461,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224,229 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $72,506,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942,638 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $293.25 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $294.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.04. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is 12.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Moffett Nathanson increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Maxim Group raised shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.74.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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