Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Meridian Wealth Management LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 358,302 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,795 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.2% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $89,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at $288,000. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $87,501,000 after buying an additional 34,414 shares during the last quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. 5th Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 132,641 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $30,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,972,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $212.93. 51,637,380 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,044,375. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.19. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson increased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

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.