Melfa Wealth Management Inc. Has $5.53 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Melfa Wealth Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,719 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 615 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.6% of Melfa Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Melfa Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Apple by 127.4% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after purchasing an additional 42,282 shares during the period. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $8,277,000. Gruss & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 136.4% in the first quarter. Gruss & Co. LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its stake in Apple by 7.6% in the first quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 167,563 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,734,000 after acquiring an additional 11,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Windsor Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,988 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $684,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $246.75 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $247.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.78.

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.