McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,999 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,990,000. Apple makes up 2.7% of McLaughlin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.85 and a 52-week high of $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $289.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.98.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned price increases could protect margins as memory and storage costs rise, and Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of upcoming AI-focused devices and a second-generation iPhone Air support confidence in Apple’s product pipeline and longer-term growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s planned price hikes may help earnings, but they could also pressure demand if consumers balk at higher handset prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple opening Brazil’s App Store to alternative marketplaces reduces regulatory friction there, but it also underscores ongoing global platform scrutiny. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.59.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.