Kevin Bostic
Google's stint as Wall Street's new darling brought another milestone on Thursday, as shares of the internet search giant passed Apple to become the most-owned stock by the 50 largest actively managed mutual funds in the U.S.
A new Citigroup report examining investments at the end of the fourth quarter names Google as the top holding among the largest mutual and hedge funds. Information compiled by Bloombergfinds Google shares now trading at roughly 25 times the company's profits, versus less than 10 times earnings for Apple. The publication notes that the gap is the widest it's been since June of 2005.
Shares of Google have surged recently, contrary to Wall Street's increasingly cautious outlook on Apple. The prevailing attitude among analysts appears to be that the Cupertino company's earnings are slowing in the face of heightened competition and perceived saturation of the premium smartphone market.
Investors are waiting to see whether Apple can open new avenues for revenue, potentially with a watch-like device or the ever-rumored Apple TV.
Google, meanwhile, is seen to have more room for growth not only in Internet search, where it holds a commanding 67 percent market share, but also in smartphone software. With a 70 percent share of the smartphone market, Android continually pumps money into Google's coffers through search engine traffic, ads and app royalties.
Google closed up $1.22 today at $832.60, while Apple also gained ground to hit $430.58, a $4.92 increase from the morning bell.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
27 Comments
Who gives a ****? There is no longterm certainty in this, it means absolutely nothing.
I hate to keep repeating myself, but remember the people who were saying that more funds and institutions would be buying into Apple because of the dividend?
Well..............That worked out real nicely.
Apple needs the big funds and institutions, because there are so many shares of AAPL available, and when some of these big players are leaving, that's obviously not a good thing. Apple should cut down on the number of shares available, IMO.
For the time being, it seems like some of the big money players prefer Google, but trends can quickly change, and those same people will be jumping back into Apple when the time is right.
And I wonder what the people who claim that AAPL is too expensive have to say about Google? If $430 is too expensive for the average investor, then what about $832? That price doesn't seem to be scaring anybody, because Google's stock seems to be doing pretty good and is constantly on the rise. I think that small time investors don't matter at all. Who gives a crap about small time investors? It's the big time investors that run the show and Apple needs the big pocketed investors.
Hopefully the fog of fancy eyewear models will lift, the catalog of failures will be looked at again (Google TV- twice) and much much more.
Android continually pumps money into Google's coffers through search engine traffic, ads and app royalties? I'm puzzled. Most of Googles mobile income is from iOS. Apple commands a far greater share of web traffic even though Android "ships" more devices, and actually sells far fewer apps because of piracy. but they are better positioned because they give stuff away. Really?
I hate to keep repeating myself, but remember the people who were saying that more funds and institutions would be buying into Apple because of the dividend?
Well..............That worked out real nicely.
I always thought that was a bad idea. I felt like it wasn't broken and didn't need fixing. Now that they decided to fix it, it's broken.