Meixler Investment Management Ltd. Has $386,000 Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Meixler Investment Management Ltd. lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,542 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 111 shares during the period. Meixler Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $202.33 to $167.88 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.85.

Apple Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $193.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.77 and a 1 year high of $260.10. 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 fifty day moving average price of $218.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.90.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

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.