Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s 3rd Largest Position

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,296,248 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 26,608 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 5.7% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $324,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Apple by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $192,700,000 after buying an additional 83,997 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in Apple by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank increased its holdings in Apple by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,433,000 after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Argus raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup restated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $199.01. 70,744,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,305,937. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $203.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.