Connective Portfolio Management LLC Buys Shares of 6,520 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Connective Portfolio Management LLC bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,520 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,659,000. Apple comprises about 2.9% of Connective Portfolio Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 573,627.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $39,065,374,000 after buying an additional 205,656,808 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 98,917.0% in the 2nd quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,106,000 after purchasing an additional 57,898,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wedbush set a $350.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.92.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan set to take over the Apple Card program, ending a drawn-out, costly partnership with Goldman Sachs and removing a persistent operational/regulatory headache for Apple; transition expected to take ~24 months. This reduces execution risk around Apple’s consumer-finance offering. JPMorgan reaches deal to take over Apple credit card, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore names Apple a top tech pick ahead of a key iPhone upgrade cycle, signaling analyst conviction about near-term iPhone sales and upside to hardware/services revenue. AAPL: Evercore Calls Apple Top Tech Pick Ahead of Key iPhone Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Foxconn’s strong Q4 revenue (AI/server and device demand) is read as a bullish signal for iPhone demand, providing a supplier-confirmation boost to Apple’s hardware outlook. Gene Munster Flags Positive Signal For Nvidia And Apple As Foxconn Smashes Q4 Revenue Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor calendar item: Apple has product/feature rollouts due Jan. 12 — a potential catalyst if new features meaningfully boost services engagement, but not yet a revenue-confirming event. Dear Apple Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for January 12
• Negative Sentiment: Alphabet surpassed Apple in market capitalization, a headline that can pressure sentiment toward Apple by shifting index/flows and signaling competitive momentum for AI leaders outside Apple. Alphabet Surpasses Apple in Market Cap for First Time Since 2019
• Negative Sentiment: Soaring memory prices pose margin pressure for hardware makers including Apple; higher component costs could compress gross margins if not passed to customers. Apple and Dell Face Soaring Memory Prices. How the Stocks Can Handle the Threat.
• Negative Sentiment: App Store net revenue growth decelerated in December, a flag for services growth momentum that investors watch closely given services’ role in valuation. Apple App Store Net Revenue Growth Decelerates In December

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $260.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $273.30 and a 200 day moving average of $246.00. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

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.