Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,562 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,024 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.7% of Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $321.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $305.96 and a 200 day moving average of $278.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.50 and a 52 week high of $334.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. 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 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $364.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group set a $365.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.83.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford will integrate Apple Maps and Apple software into upcoming lower-cost EVs and self-driving features, expanding Apple’s automotive footprint and creating another potential platform for its services ecosystem. Ford Will Use Apple Software in New Self-Driving System
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is preparing a smarter shopping assistant for the App Store and testing a more AI-driven buying experience suggest new ways to improve commerce, engagement, and monetization across its ecosystem. Apple Tests Smarter Shopping Experience
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains constructive in places, with Morgan Stanley reportedly raising its Apple target and several pieces arguing Apple could be an underappreciated AI beneficiary as it readies new Macs, iMacs, and other hardware built for AI demand. Apple Plans To Overhaul Computers to Meet AI Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Samsung’s new foldables and the broader “AI hardware” race are keeping Apple in the spotlight, but the news is mostly competitive context rather than a direct near-term catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple lost a key court bid, leaving a $634 million Apple Watch blood-oxygen patent verdict in place, which keeps legal overhangs alive and could raise investor concern about additional costs or product restrictions. Apple Fails to Overturn $634 Million Masimo Verdict
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple market notes point to Apple’s valuation being rich and the stock being vulnerable to volatility into earnings, with some analysts warning that momentum may be peaking after a strong run.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple 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 value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, 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 document filed 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. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.