Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Buys 25,643 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 19.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,464 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 25,643 shares during the period. Apple makes up 4.7% of Global X Japan Co. Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $36,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Apple by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,160,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,807 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in 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. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,291,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,759 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Apple by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 20,008,650 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,214,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,359,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Apple by 10.3% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 16,745,201 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,526,874,000 after buying an additional 1,557,848 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock traded up $4.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $254.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 145,580,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,671,145. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $234.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.48. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $255.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

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.