Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Decreased by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 462,765 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 784 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.3% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $89,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its position in Apple by 70.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 27.7% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction 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 $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.80 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $173.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

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.