Fruth Investment Management Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Fruth Investment Management lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,181 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.4% of Fruth Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 21.1% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $787,631,000 after purchasing an additional 588,427 shares during the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.0% during the third quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 24,199 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,638,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 254,357 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,265,000 after buying an additional 21,569 shares during the period. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 100.2% in the third quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 14,148 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,296,000 after acquiring an additional 7,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leisure Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Leisure Capital Management now owns 81,242 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,929,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 7.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $188.38 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $229.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.16. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.08 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.26.

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.