Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp Buys New Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 388,000 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $105,482,000. Apple accounts for approximately 3.1% of Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 890.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after purchasing an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.59.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $291.13 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.07 and a twelve month high of $317.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $285.64 and a 200-day moving average of $272.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change 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 13.06%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Services business posted record revenue in the fiscal second quarter, supported by ecosystem growth, AI-related updates, and its huge installed device base. Apple Continues to Expand Services Business: What’s the Path Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators said Apple still has strong fundamentals, including a solid balance sheet, loyal customer base, and products investors continue to love, which supports the long-term bull case. Jim Cramer on Apple: “It Still Has Products We All Love”
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Apple, signaling expectations for steady profit growth over the next two fiscal years. Apple earnings estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC announcements showed a clearer AI roadmap, including next-generation Siri features and device software updates, but the market appears to be waiting for stronger evidence that these changes will drive meaningful revenue growth. Apple Unveils Siri AI. Here’s Why It’s Not Impressing Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggested Apple’s AI launch could help the stock over time, but it may take more than Siri upgrades alone to restore investor enthusiasm. Apple Just Gave Investors a Glimpse of Is AI Future at WWDC. It May Take More to Revive AAPL Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried Apple’s AI ambitions are colliding with a memory-cost crunch, creating pricing pressure that could weigh on margins. Apple Faces a No-Win Pricing Dilemma. Should Investors Be Worried?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say the market was disappointed that Apple’s Siri AI reveal did not feel like a big enough breakthrough to justify a sharper rerating of the stock. Apple’s AI News Underwhelms. Siri AI Release Concerns Persist.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade 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, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. 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.