36,341 Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 309,419 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,341 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.3% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $101,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the third quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 1,912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. JMG Financial Group Ltd. increased its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Forward LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Forward LLC now owns 13,327 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,438,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $342.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.42 and a fifty-two week high of $355.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 128.88% and a net margin of 27.60%. The business had revenue of $114.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 9.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.04%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, with solid iPhone and Mac demand. Apple also says more apps optimized for its new foldable iPhone are coming, potentially improving the product’s appeal. Apple earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many chipmakers amid the AI-stock sell-off, and Bernstein raised its price target to $380 while maintaining a Buy rating. This relative strength may support investor sentiment. Apple holds up amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking about $7.5 billion through a bond offering. The financing provides flexibility, though the reports do not specify its use. The company is also limiting some employees’ AI-tool budgets, a move that could help control costs but raises questions about its internal AI investment. Apple bond sale report
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned of unprecedented memory-chip costs and supply constraints heading into the holiday quarter, putting gross margins at risk despite healthy demand. Investors are also weighing slower Services growth and Apple’s premium valuation. Memory costs and supply constraints

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citic Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.74.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This trade represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 291,651 shares of company stock worth $97,082,537 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS.

The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.