Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,012,955 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,493 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.1% of Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $139,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Apple by 20.0% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,615,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $456,728,000 after acquiring an additional 435,891 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Markel Corp raised its position in Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $210,752,000 after purchasing an additional 8,450 shares in the last quarter. Camden Capital LLC raised its position in Apple by 9.2% during the first quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,305,000 after purchasing an additional 13,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $23,629,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.3 %

AAPL stock opened at $152.99 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.17 and a twelve month high of $179.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $145.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.38.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Investors of record on Monday, February 13th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 10th. 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%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $125.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Apple from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $160.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, National Bank Financial decreased their price objective on Apple to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.24.

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.