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Investment firm BlackRock increases stake in Apple stock, now owns 6.1% of shares

The world's largest asset management firm BlackRock has increased its holdings in Apple, with a regulatory filing revealing its total ownership in the company is now over 322 million shares, worth approximately $38.4 billion.

A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission confirms the investment firm owns 322,683,504 shares in total, which works out to be a 6.1 percent stake in Apple. The figure is up from the same time last year, as in January 2016 BlackRock owned a 5.7 percent stake in the iPhone producer.

The news of BlackRock's increased ownership in Apple has positively affected the markets, with Yahoo Finance noting the Apple stock price has risen by 0.3 percent to $120.11.

As the largest investment firm, BlackRock has considerable holdings in other major tech companies, owning at least five percent of Microsoft, Facebook, and HP. BlackRock also has a seat on the Apple board, with co-founder and current chief operating officer Susan Wagner the second woman to do so after replacing the long-serving Bill Campbell in 2014.

Earlier this week, Apple's stock price reached a 14-month high, while Morgan Stanley rated Apple as "overweight" and set a price target for the company's shares of $148. As part of the rating, Morgan Stanley's estimates for the fiscal 2017 iPhone revenue were reduced by 3 percent due to anticipated "weak demand" ahead of an iPhone "supercycle."