Added by sinha.a on February 24, 2015 .

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is the most desirable stock among institutional investors. With $383 billion in holdings and the title of being the undisputed leader in innovation and the telecommunications sector, it is obvious that Apple Inc. is on an upswing. Its stock (AAPL) hit an all time high, closing the day, February 23, at 133.00 points up 3.51 points (2.71 percent). Since Tim Cook took charge at the helm of the organization as the CEO, things have been looking very favorable for Apple Inc.

The recent introduction of the latest variants of its flagship mobile phone brand, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, with much bigger touch screen displays, was considered a move in the correct direction, given the market trend. This change in the product range as required by the volatile mobile phone market, was greatly appreciated by the institutional investors of Apple Inc.

It has been reported that Apple Inc. the Cupertino, California-based company, has a number of institutional investors who hold more than 2000 individual funds. These shares alone, were estimated to be worth more than $380 billion in December 2014. The number of institutional investments holding shares of this estimated value is by far, the highest at the moment for any other organization in the United States.

During the fourth quarter of 2014, a Swedish bank, Swedbank, acquired 9.5 million AAPL shares to become the largest buyer of Apple Inc. stock. BlackRock Inc. and State Street Corp. are also the major shareholders of Apple Inc.(AAPL). With the selling off of 28.5 million shares, Capital Research Global Investors became the largest seller of AAPL stock.

With a recent record valuation of Apple Inc. topping $700 billion, the company has surpassed all previously held records of being the worlds largest company by market capitalization. Apple Inc. has declared that 74.5 million iPhones have been sold worldwide in the last three months. Due to this, Apple Inc.s profits recorded an unprecedented jump of about 37 percent, totalling $18 billion. Apple also posted sales revenue of astounding $74.6 billion, which is also up by about 30 percent compared to the same quarter in 2013. This has made Apple Inc. (AAPL) the most desirable stock among institutional investors.

The New York Stock Exchange has half of its trade volume handled by institutional investors. Their job is to move large blocks of shares and have massive influence on the stock markets activity. Institutional investors are considered to be knowledgeable and less likely to make uneducated investments. Therefore, they are subject to only a few of the protective regulations that the Securities and Exchange Commission provides to any standard investor.

An institutional investor is entitled to exercise the voting rights in a company, having the ability to influence the management of corporations. This also allows them to actively engage in the corporate governance. Therefore, they enjoy certain exclusive rights in the functioning of an organization. The institutional investors have the freedom to buy and sell shares; they can act in a considerable role in evaluating which companies stay in business and which do not. Part of the job of an investment manager is to influence the behavior of listed companies and to provide them with capital.

With assets worth more than $3 trillion, the worlds largest investment management firm, The Vanguard Group, is Apples largest shareholder at present. The Vanguard Group finished the fourth quarter of 2014 with its Apple Inc. shares having a valuation of approximately $37 billion after adding more than 5 million shares. At the moment, it would be safe to say that Apple Inc. (AAPL) is the most desirable stock among institutional investors.