Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,251 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 588 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.3% of Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Apple by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,677,190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 54,702,300 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,531,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067,587 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $225.89 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $219.17 and its 200 day moving average is $193.40. The company has a market cap of $3.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.63.

About Apple

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.