Churchill Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $17.15 Million Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Churchill Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 63,093 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $17,152,000. Apple accounts for 5.2% of Churchill Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new Siri AI and broader Apple Intelligence rollout could improve user engagement, strengthen the ecosystem, and support longer-term monetization across its large installed base. Apple introduces Siri AI, a profoundly more capable and personal assistant
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush and other bullish analysts said the WWDC announcements could unlock significant AI-driven upside, with one note calling the event a potential catalyst for meaningful monetization across Apple’s installed base. AI Could Add $75-$100 to Apple Stock (AAPL), Says Top Wedbush Analyst after WWDC Event
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple expanded developer tools and AI frameworks, including cheaper access to its Foundation Models for smaller developers, which may help grow the ecosystem but is unlikely to move near-term earnings immediately. Apple bets cheaper AI will woo small developers
• Negative Sentiment: The market’s reaction suggests investors wanted a bigger AI breakthrough; several reports said Apple shares faded after the announcements as the new platform was seen as underwhelming versus high expectations. Apple (AAPL) Stock Slides after New AI Platform Underwhelms
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is still being viewed as late to AI, and some coverage framed WWDC as catch-up rather than a clear leadership moment, raising concerns that the announcements may not be enough to drive a new wave of hardware upgrades right away. Apple plays catch-up at WWDC

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.82.

Apple Trading Down 1.9%

Apple stock opened at $301.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.07 and a 1 year high of $317.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $282.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.63.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly 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. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

About Apple

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.