Employees Provident Fund Board Acquires New Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Employees Provident Fund Board bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,324,583 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $360,101,000. Apple accounts for about 2.6% of Employees Provident Fund Board’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 6.4% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $298.01 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $196.85 and a one year 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $289.73 and its 200 day moving average is $272.91. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Roundup

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.