Catalina Capital Group LLC Has $7.71 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Catalina Capital Group LLC reduced its stake in Apple by 56.8% in Q1 2023, owning 34,695 shares valued at approximately $7.71 million.
• Apple reported $1.65 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 5.1% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• The company has authorized a $100 billion stock buyback plan, indicating management's belief that its shares are undervalued.

Catalina Capital Group LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 56.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,695 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 45,608 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.0% of Catalina Capital Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Catalina Capital Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $7,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Avid Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. TruWealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,045,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 3,368.2% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank cut Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays set a $173.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.94.

Apple Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AAPL traded down $2.22 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,674,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,746,808. The company has a fifty day moving average of $205.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.16. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.