Ketron Financial Purchases New Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Ketron Financial opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 70,404 shares valued at about $19.14 million. Apple now represents 6.4% of the fund’s holdings and is its third-largest position.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and the company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.
• Wall Street remains broadly upbeat on Apple, with multiple firms reiterating buy-style ratings and price targets as high as $400. Recent headlines also point to pricing power, AI-related product plans, and continued scrutiny over app store rules in Brazil.

Ketron Financial purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 70,404 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $19,140,000. Apple makes up 6.4% of Ketron Financial's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st 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. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $88,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Apple News

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 Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The stock 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $289.73 and a 200-day moving average of $272.98.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $276.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.59.

Apple 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.

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