Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by GF Fund Management CO. LTD.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,500,539 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,281 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 7.8% of GF Fund Management CO. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Apple were worth $333,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 2.0%

Apple stock opened at $226.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate 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, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.