Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Cut by Fruth Investment Management

Fruth Investment Management reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.9% of Fruth Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. High Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Asset Planning Corporation lifted its position in Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.5% during the second quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,777,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 253,915 shares of company stock worth $44,202,868. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.08.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $176.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.70 and a 200-day moving average of $182.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.42 and a 52 week high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

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.