Catalyst Investment Management LLC Invests $1.90 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Catalyst Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 6,999 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,903,000. Apple makes up about 1.8% of Catalyst Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories 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

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $298.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $289.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 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. The company has a market capitalization 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was 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. Insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.