Means Investment CO. Inc. Sells 44,563 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Means Investment CO. Inc. reduced its holdings in Apple by 12.2%, retaining 321,481 shares, worth approximately $71.4 million, making it their second largest position.
• Analysts have largely maintained a positive outlook on Apple, with 15 analysts issuing buy ratings and an average target price of $234.94 following various upgrades.
• Apple announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.26 per share and initiated a stock repurchase program allowing for the buyback of $100 billion in shares, signaling confidence in its stock valuation.

Means Investment CO. Inc. lessened its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 321,481 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 44,563 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 7.6% of Means Investment CO. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Means Investment CO. Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $71,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% in the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 2.8% during the first quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,045,000 after acquiring an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $113,062,000 after purchasing an additional 438,471 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.1%

AAPL traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $208.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,029,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,191,012. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50-day moving average is $205.10 and its 200-day moving average is $214.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.