Meridian Financial Partners LLC Has $6.47 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 34,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 6.6% of Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Potomac Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. New Potomac Partners LLC now owns 39,140 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,536,000 after acquiring an additional 4,374 shares during the last quarter. Next Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 35,508 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 116.9% in the fourth quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,479 shares during the last quarter. Flower City Capital grew its stake in shares of Apple by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Flower City Capital now owns 12,949 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,152 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $172.69 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $176.40 and its 200 day moving average is $182.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.80 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.08.

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.