McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

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

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capstone Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. Bauman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $2,554,000. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,486 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,841,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC raised its stake in Apple by 50.6% in the 4th quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 6,127 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterford Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Waterford Advisors LLC now owns 8,475 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $298.01 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $289.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.98. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.85 and a 12 month high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

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 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.