Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 895 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,348 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 895 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.8% of Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Robinson Value Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Ramsey Quantitative Systems bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $151.03 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.17 and a 52-week high of $179.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $141.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Investors of record on Monday, February 13th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 10th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Apple in a research report on Sunday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $160.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas cut Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Apple from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.18.

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.