16,949 Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL Purchased by Monetary Solutions Ltd

Key Points

• Monetary Solutions Ltd opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 16,949 shares worth about $4.6 million. Apple now accounts for roughly 4.5% of the firm’s holdings and is its sixth-largest position.
• Institutional ownership in Apple remains high, with 67.73% of shares held by institutions, and several other funds also added to their stakes. Meanwhile, insiders sold shares in the last quarter, including SVP Deirdre O’Brien and CFO Kevan Parekh.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally positive: Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.59. The company also recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and raised its dividend from $0.26 to $0.27 per share.

Monetary Solutions Ltd bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,949 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,608,000. Apple makes up about 4.5% of Monetary Solutions Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $276.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.85 and a twelve month high of $317.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $289.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.98. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

About Apple

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.

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