Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC’s Largest Position

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,442 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 483 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.6% of MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,122,000 after acquiring an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares during the period. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 276,791 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $64,492,000 after purchasing an additional 6,711 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.85.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $202.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.79. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Apple 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.