Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Has $19.20 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 26.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,662 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,105 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.7% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riggs Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $1,780,000. Rodgers Brothers Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 40,623 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,173,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. Seven Mile Advisory grew its position in Apple by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 42,584 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,664,000 after buying an additional 6,684 shares during the period. Colrain Capital LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,489,000. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its position in Apple by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 286,408 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $71,722,000 after buying an additional 31,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of AAPL opened at $201.45 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and set a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.02.

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.