Meitav Investment House Ltd. Has $171.66 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Meitav Investment House Ltd. grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 224.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 814,474 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 563,553 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.1% of Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $171,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after purchasing an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 23,076.4% during the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Apple by 158.3% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,977,582,000 after buying an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 161.2% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,502,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,405,542 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $226.80 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $222.90 and its 200 day moving average is $204.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 458,619 shares of company stock worth $101,352,630 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $203.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Apple 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.