Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 82,902 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,116,721 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 82,902 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.0% of Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,460,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the first 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 4,942,638 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its stake in Apple by 573,627.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $39,065,374,000 after buying an additional 205,656,808 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Apple by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $278.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.09.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.