Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,549,018 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,458 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.7% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,148,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $260.00 to $366.00 in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.71.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $325.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $305.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.27. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.50 and a 1-year high of $334.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly plans a major overhaul of its Mac lineup to meet demand for AI-powered computers, with new versions of every Mac product expected. That could support future hardware upgrades and help Apple participate more directly in the AI spending cycle. Apple Plans To Overhaul Computers to Meet AI Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is also set to launch a new “Apple Upgrade” device leasing program with Klarna, which could make iPhones, Macs, iPads and Apple Watches easier to finance and potentially lift replacement demand. Apple to launch ‘Upgrade’ device leasing program to spur sales, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators remain constructive on Apple’s long-term momentum, arguing the company’s ecosystem, pricing power and upcoming product cycle still support the stock despite recent volatility. Why Apple (AAPL) is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Samsung’s new foldable launches and rising prices highlight the competitive pressure in premium mobile devices, while also signaling that Apple’s expected entry into foldables is increasingly on investors’ radar. Samsung unveils wider foldable phone, hikes prices as chip costs rise
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains a top-market-cap stock and is trading near peak valuations, which keeps sentiment mixed heading into earnings and makes the shares more sensitive to any disappointment. Is Apple stock overvalued? Here’s what AlphaSpace valuation metrics say.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple lost a key court bid in its Masimo dispute, leaving a $634 million Apple Watch patent verdict in place. That legal overhang is a direct negative for sentiment because it preserves a costly judgment and keeps the litigation risk alive. Apple Fails to Overturn $634 Million Masimo Verdict
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors and analysts are warning that Apple’s stock has become expensive after a strong run, which is pressuring the shares as traders lock in gains ahead of earnings. The Risk in Apple’s Stock That Nobody Is Talking About

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.