Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $790.86 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,394,287 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 423,305 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 3.6% of Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $790,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after buying an additional 5,893,741 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 20,372.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after purchasing an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Apple by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $11,160,183,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,807 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,909,457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,291,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,759 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

AAPL traded down $0.33 on Wednesday, reaching $232.47. 39,024,020 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 59,015,961. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.90, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $241.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.95.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple's payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Moffett Nathanson restated a "sell" rating and set a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $242.52.

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.