Midway Capital Research & Management Takes Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Midway Capital Research & Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 23,796 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,469,000. Apple comprises about 6.3% of Midway Capital Research & Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Apple News

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 Apple stock opened at $298.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.85 and a 52-week high of $317.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $289.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 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 $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

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.