Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 16,105 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,662 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 16,105 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 5.7% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $19,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.0% in the third quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 90,845 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $21,167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,605 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 508,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $118,430,000 after acquiring an additional 8,013 shares in the last quarter. Red Wave Investments LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Red Wave Investments LLC now owns 24,521 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,714,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 9,887,520 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,303,792,000 after acquiring an additional 25,126 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $202.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 52,015,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,214,415. The stock's 50-day moving average is $200.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. 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 one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. DA Davidson upped their price objective 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. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Four 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.