Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Boosted by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,442,651 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 561,511 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.9% of Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,115,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in Apple by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after acquiring an additional 28,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Apple Trading Up 1.9 %

AAPL opened at $218.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $231.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.42. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.08 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

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.