Apple stock climbs to nearly US$140 following Warren Buffett's investment, price target increases

Apple stock jumped by more than 2 percent during trading hours on Wednesday. With this, and following price target increases and Warren Buffet’s investment, the tech giant reached a high of US$139.99 (AU$182.6).

Buffet’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, has increased its stake in Apple – almost doubling it. As reported on Monday, Berkshire now owns US$18 billion (AU$23.5 billion) worth of Apple shares, or 133 million shares.

On Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook thanked the billionaire for his investment at the annual shareholder meeting. Cook said he was “very proud” following Berkshire’s investment in Apple.

“I think what's good for Apple is to have long term shareholders,” Cook said. “We're very proud that Berkshire Hathaway is now a shareholder because they tend to be a long shareholder.” As noted by CNBC, Berkshire is now Apple’s third largest holding – ahead of Kraft Heinz and Wells Fargo.

Meanwhile, BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk has upped his price target on Apple stock. Expecting a significant growth in 2017, he increased his price target from US$133 (AU$173.6) per share to US$165 (AU$215.4) per share.

Stifel analyst Aaron Rakers has a price target of $130 (AU$169.7) on Apple stock – along with a Hold rating. According to Rakers, 24 percent of Apple’s top institutional shareholders were Overweight (the highest recorded percentage for Overweight institutional investors in the last two years), while the remaining 76 percent were either Equal-weight or Underweight.

Additionally, he said the stock constituted of about 2.2 percent of the top 100 holders’ portfolios. This was an escalation from 2 percent in the previous and year-ago quarters. While the three-year average stands at 2 percent, the highest (at 3.6 percent) was recorded in 2012.

Speaking at the annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, Cook highlighted how the tech giant could attract more shareholders to invest in Apple. “[CFO] Luca [Maestri] and I have talked about, could we sort of structure a dividend, with the board's approval obviously, such that it pays for longer term shareholding as opposed to shorter. There's lots about that that I like,” Cook said.

The market capitalisation for Apple has gone beyond US$734 billion (AU$958.2 billion). This has gotten analysts speculating if or when it will touch the anticipated US$1 trillion (AU$1.31 trillion) mark. In order to achieve the milestone, the Apple stock would need to be US$190 (AU$247.9) a share. If the tech giant does reach US$1 trillion (AU$1.32 trillion), it will be the first company in the world to do so.