Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 6,492 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 414,547 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,492 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.3% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Apple were worth $105,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford said it will embed Apple Maps into upcoming EVs, expanding Apple’s software reach and reinforcing the value of its ecosystem. Ford Embeds Apple Maps Directly into Upcoming EVs
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Apple and reiterated an Outperform rating, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Apple as outperforming the broader market, supported by strong ratings and a favorable chart setup ahead of earnings. Why is Apple stock outperforming the broader market?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also the subject of discussion around upcoming product launches, AI features, and a possible device-leasing program, which could support demand but remain unconfirmed or longer-term in nature.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted concerns that Apple’s valuation is stretched heading into earnings, and insider sales plus short-interest chatter may temper enthusiasm if results disappoint.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating 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 assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.40.

Apple Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $333.02 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.50 and a 52-week high of $334.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $306.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.01.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

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.