Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,976 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,805 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 8.4% of Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Apple by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $787,631,000 after buying an additional 588,427 shares during the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 4,168 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 44,787 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,435,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Trust Co of Kansas lifted its holdings in Apple by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of Kansas now owns 42,829 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,979,000 after buying an additional 2,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 583,413 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $135,935,000 after buying an additional 14,969 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $223.75 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $231.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.43. 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 company has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.65.

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.