Ketron Financial Acquires New Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Ketron Financial bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPLFree Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 70,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $19,140,000. Apple accounts for about 6.4% of Ketron Financial’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its stake in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.85 and a twelve month 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 50 day moving average price is $289.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.98.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPLGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Key Headlines 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.59.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Apple

About Apple

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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