Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Cuts Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 367,873 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 30,324 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.0% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $50,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Robinson Value Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Raymond James dropped their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Fundamental Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $175.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on Apple from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.24.

Apple Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $152.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.30. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $124.17 and a one year high of $179.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $144.98 and its 200-day moving average is $145.33.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.05). Apple had a return on equity of 163.45% and a net margin of 24.56%. The business had revenue of $117.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Investors of record on Monday, February 13th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.62%.

Apple Company Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.