Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 4,992 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Meyer Handelman Co. lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 587,399 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,992 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.5% of Meyer Handelman Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Meyer Handelman Co.'s holdings in Apple were worth $130,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Allstate Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $192,700,000 after acquiring an additional 83,997 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank raised its stake in Apple by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,433,000 after acquiring an additional 2,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial upped 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.39.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $201.08. 73,073,177 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,462,167. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $202.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.53. The company has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $95.36 billion for 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 167.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.