Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $105.75 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 502,086 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,645 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.3% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $105,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 596,183 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $125,568,000 after purchasing an additional 4,780 shares in the last quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 50,462 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Wealthgate Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.5% in the second quarter. Wealthgate Family Office LLC now owns 16,283 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,430,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 39,235 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,264,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the period. Finally, Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $1,996,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 417,924 shares of company stock worth $94,142,399. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.51.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $223.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $226.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple Company 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.