Means Investment CO. Inc. Has $81.20 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Means Investment CO. Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 298,672 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,726 shares during the period. Apple makes up 6.8% of Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $81,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $293.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.46 and a 12 month high of $294.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $261.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Maxim Group upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.74.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.