4,447,592 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Bought by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,447,592 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,983,000. Apple comprises about 6.6% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.

Apple Trading Up 1.0%

AAPL traded up $1.97 during trading on Monday, hitting $198.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 42,873,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,696,017. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $202.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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.