Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Has $80.93 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 323,157 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 7,741 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 5.1% of Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $80,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $198.84. The stock had a trading volume of 14,546,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,449,083. The company's 50 day moving average price is $200.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Apple

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.