Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Midwest Financial Group LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Midwest Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,631 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 5.3% of Midwest Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Midwest Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in shares of Apple by 70.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 27.7% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $132,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $170.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $172.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.71.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. Apple’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.62.

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.