Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,416 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,397 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.8% of Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $73,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. lifted its holdings 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. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $222.78 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down from $256.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.05.

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.