MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Sells 33,614 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,462 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 33,614 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Apple were worth $37,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 116,483.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 569,554,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $74,002,245,000 after purchasing an additional 569,066,184 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $21,746,940,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Apple by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 208,655,323 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,110,586,000 after acquiring an additional 25,926,552 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,932,352 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,103,464,000 after acquiring an additional 17,604,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 154.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 23,295,770 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,729,270,000 after acquiring an additional 14,157,430 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $172.69 on Tuesday. 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. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.32. The company has a market cap of $2.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 target price for the company. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.