China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 39,516 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 268,894 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 39,516 shares during the period. Apple comprises 6.3% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $67,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Manuka Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $999,000. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC now owns 70,169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $17,572,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Apple by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 79,103 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $19,809,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 68,523 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 254,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $61,776,000 after acquiring an additional 13,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 2.7 %

AAPL opened at $217.90 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $230.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.52.

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.