Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Lowered by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 320,175 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 18,508 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 1.4% of Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $67,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Apple in the first quarter worth approximately $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 14,145.8% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Apple by 158.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 161.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,502,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,405,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $834,368,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 417,924 shares of company stock worth $94,142,399 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $223.45 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $226.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.44. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.51.

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.