Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Boosted by Seelaus Asset Management LLC

Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 37,432 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,648 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 6.9% of Seelaus Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Seelaus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly launching a new device leasing program with Klarna, a major change to how it sells hardware that could support upgrade demand and recurring device sales. Reuters: Apple to launch ‘Upgrade’ device leasing program to spur sales, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Apple, saying it is entering a powerful new upgrade cycle supported by AI and a strong hardware roadmap. Barchart: HSBC Says Apple Is Entering a Powerful New Upgrade Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators highlighted Apple’s pricing power, strong installed base, and relative insulation from the AI capex arms race as reasons investors are favoring AAPL over some other mega-cap tech names. MarketBeat: Apple Stock Sends Major Warning Signal as Momentum Hits Peak

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $327.74 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $304.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.89. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.50 and a 12 month high of $334.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its 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 net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 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 given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. 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 presently 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a 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, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.71.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

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.