Means Investment CO. Inc. Trims Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Means Investment CO. Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 370,553 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,303 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 9.6% of Means Investment CO. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $86,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP raised its stake in Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth about $206,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $248.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.81, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $250.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $232.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.41.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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 yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.