Hobart Private Capital LLC Acquires 5,871 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Hobart Private Capital LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 58.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,855 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,871 shares during the period. Hobart Private Capital LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the third quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly preparing major iPhone software changes, including a more customizable Camera app, a rebuilt Siri, and broader interface updates, which investors view as a sign the company is sharpening its product roadmap ahead of future iPhone and WWDC-related announcements. Apple Stock Is Gaining Today: What’s Happening Behind The Scenes?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is being helped by rising AI optimism, with commentary highlighting strong iPhone demand, solid Services performance, and potential AI partnerships such as Google Gemini, all of which support the case for continued upside. Ca$htag$: AAPL Hits Record High as AI Optimism Grows
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is also getting support from reports that WWDC could be a major catalyst if it resets the market’s AI expectations and strengthens confidence in future software and ecosystem growth. The Event That Could Redefine Apple’s Summer Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s efforts to expand the App Store for autonomous AI agents suggest the company is trying to capture more of the next wave of AI-powered software while maintaining its security standards. Apple Prepares App Store for Autonomous AI Agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s participation in U.S.-China diplomatic and business discussions could matter for supply-chain and market-access issues, but the near-term financial impact is still uncertain. Trump Arrives in Beijing for High-Stakes Xi Summit Focused on Trade, AI, and Iran
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple is opposing EU AI-related measures and arguing they could hurt privacy and security are more about regulatory positioning than an immediate earnings driver. Apple criticises EU measures to help AI rivals access Google services
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh tariff headlines could keep pressure on Apple’s hardware costs and supply chain if higher import duties remain in place for longer. Appeals Court Temporarily Reinstates Trump’s 10% Global Tariffs
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling, including a modest sale by Ben Borders, may slightly temper sentiment, though it is small relative to Apple’s size and the broader bullish backdrop. SEC insider filing

Apple Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $298.87 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.46 and a 12 month high of $300.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.