Mariner Investment Group LLC Makes New $67.42 Million Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Mariner Investment Group opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 248,000 shares worth about $67.4 million. Apple now represents 3.9% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 13th largest holding.
• Apple’s latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and analysts currently expect $8.75 EPS for the full fiscal year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, while shares recently traded near $298, close to the stock’s 52-week high. Institutional ownership remains high at 67.73% of shares outstanding.

Mariner Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 248,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $67,421,000. Apple accounts for approximately 3.9% of Mariner Investment Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $289.73 and a 200-day moving average of $272.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 annualized dividend 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%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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