Apple Inc. $AAPL is Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s 2nd Largest Position

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,399,089 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 217,361 shares during the period. Apple makes up 6.3% of Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $591,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 108.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,880,000 after purchasing an additional 18,188 shares during the last quarter. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $105,482,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Apple by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,915,172,000 after purchasing an additional 214,215 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: India proposed extending tax exemptions through 2041 for foreign companies supplying equipment to contract manufacturers. The policy could lower Apple’s manufacturing costs and support its strategy of shifting more iPhone production to India. India proposes extending tax breaks for contract manufacturing in a boost for Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to generate substantial free cash flow, with analysts expecting strong cash generation to continue alongside higher revenue forecasts. This supports shareholder returns and provides financial flexibility, although the stock’s valuation limits the upside case. Apple Delivers Strong Free Cash Flow, But What is the Best AAPL Play?
• Positive Sentiment: A reported deal with PlasmaSolve could help Apple develop thinner, stronger device finishes by using software simulations before factory testing, potentially improving manufacturing yields and reducing testing costs. Apple Stock Drops as PlasmaSolve Deal Targets Thinner and Stronger Devices

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $364.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.60.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $303.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.68 and a 1-year high of $344.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $309.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.90.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. Apple’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.8 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

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.