Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Boosted by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 297,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 32,884 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.2% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $74,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Axiom Investors LLC DE lifted its stake in Apple by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 1,723,822 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $431,680,000 after purchasing an additional 182,654 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 195,717 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $49,011,000 after buying an additional 21,727 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 55,840 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,990,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650 shares during the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $1,634,000. Finally, Everstar Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 3,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $199.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,675,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,560,287. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $200.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank cut Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

Apple 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.