Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Has $18.02 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 55.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 66,300 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 82,900 shares during the period. Apple makes up 4.2% of Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 20,464.8% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC keynote is expected to highlight a revamped Siri, Apple Intelligence updates, and a broader AI strategy, which could act as a near-term catalyst if the company shows meaningful progress. Will WWDC Drive Apple Stock (AAPL) Higher? Here’s What Analysts Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with Citi reiterating a Buy and Wedbush reaffirming Outperform with a $400 target, citing Apple’s AI inflection point and resilient iPhone fundamentals. Asiya Merchant Reiterates Buy on Apple, Citing AI Strategy Inflection and Resilient iPhone Fundamentals
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store update showed $1.4 trillion in sales and billings last year, reinforcing the scale of its Services ecosystem even as most transactions did not carry a commission. Apple touts $1.4 trillion in App Store billings and sales, 90% without a commission
• Positive Sentiment: Foxconn raised its second-quarter outlook, a constructive signal for Apple’s supply chain and iPhone demand, since Foxconn is Apple’s top iPhone assembler. Taiwan’s Foxconn raises guidance for second-quarter outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple may rely on Google cloud infrastructure and Nvidia chips to power a redesigned Siri suggest the company is prioritizing speed to market, but they also underscore that Apple is leaning on outside partners for its AI push. Apple Taps Google to Prep Siri For September Revamp
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns that Apple still faces a high bar to justify its valuation, and UBS noted decelerating App Store growth could pressure the Services growth story if AI execution disappoints. Investors Should Worry About Apple’s (AAPL) Decelerating App Store Growth, Says UBS

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.82.

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $307.34 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.37. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $195.07 and a one year high of $316.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released 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 return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

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 value 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was 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 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last three months. 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.