Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 478,419 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 42,711 shares during the period. Apple makes up 6.6% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $92,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in Apple by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,615,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $456,728,000 after purchasing an additional 435,891 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Markel Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $210,752,000 after acquiring an additional 8,450 shares in the last quarter. Camden Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.2% in the first quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,305,000 after acquiring an additional 13,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the first quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $23,629,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 58.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 65,536 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.11, for a total transaction of $11,279,400.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,483,548.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 65,536 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.11, for a total transaction of $11,279,400.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,483,548.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.04, for a total transaction of $884,496.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at $6,383,795.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 444,391 shares of company stock worth $77,370,046. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $189.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.17 and a 52-week high of $198.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $176.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.53. The company has a market cap of $2.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $89.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.34 billion. Apple had a net margin of 25.31% and a return on equity of 160.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 13th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, September 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.25.

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.