Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,994,661 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 145,218 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.7% of Ninety One UK Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $814,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $421,850.00. Following 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.74.

Apple Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $294.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $263.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.73. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.46 and a 12 month high of $295.27. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.65, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming WWDC is seen as a major catalyst that could reset investor expectations around its AI roadmap and support another leg higher if management delivers a stronger vision for Siri, iOS, and future devices. The Event That Could Redefine Apple’s Summer Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is also being viewed more favorably after reports highlighted strong supply-chain execution, continued AI-services potential, and a growing case for the stock as a momentum name. Apple (AAPL) Gains Wall Street Confidence on Supply Chain Strength and AI Services Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Google are rolling out end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging between iPhone and Android users, which should improve the messaging experience and support the ecosystem value proposition. Apple And Google Finally Close SMS Security Gap…
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Apple is planning customizable camera controls and Siri design changes in iOS 27, which could help future product appeal but are still early-stage software rumors. Apple Plans Customizable Camera for Pros, Siri Design Changes in iOS 27
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s director and an insider both sold shares recently, which can create some caution, but the sales appear modest relative to Apple’s overall size and recent record earnings. Apple Board Veteran Sells $71 Million in Stock After Record Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: A new federal appeals-court decision temporarily keeping Trump’s 10% global tariffs in place could preserve cost pressure on imported consumer electronics, including Apple products. Appeals Court Temporarily Reinstates Trump’s 10% Global Tariffs
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares, a small signal that may slightly dampen sentiment, though it is not large enough on its own to change the broader bullish narrative. SEC insider filing

Apple 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.