Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Ayalon Insurance Comp Ltd.

Ayalon Insurance Comp Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,847 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,129 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 3.1% of Ayalon Insurance Comp Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Ayalon Insurance Comp Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Robinson Value Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 5,935.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC now owns 233,803 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 229,929 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its position 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 worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $155.00 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $146.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.32. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $179.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 13th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. National Bank Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Apple to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 20th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Credit Suisse Group set a $184.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.24.

Apple 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.