Means Investment CO. Inc. Sells 4,726 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Means Investment CO. Inc. reduced its Apple stake by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,726 shares and leaving it with 298,672 shares worth about $81.2 million. Apple remains a major holding, making up 6.8% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Apple reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.01 EPS on revenue of $111.18 billion, both above analyst estimates. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with Wedbush lifting its price target to $400 and the consensus among analysts sitting at a Moderate Buy with a target of $305.74. At the same time, insiders including CFO Kevan Parekh and CEO Tim Cook recently sold shares.

Means Investment CO. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 298,672 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,726 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 6.8% of Means Investment CO. Inc.'s portfolio, 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 SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.74.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $293.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.46 and a 52-week high of $294.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business's fifty day moving average is $261.85 and its 200-day moving average is $266.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple News Summary

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 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.

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