McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. Has $5.26 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 115.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,739 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 11,098 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.1% of McClarren Financial Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new Siri and broader AI reset is being viewed positively by analysts, with BofA reiterating a Buy rating and saying the WWDC update could strengthen Apple’s AI position and support the stock. BofA Says Apple’s (AAPL) New Siri Strategy Could Strengthen its AI Position
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s reported chip partnership with Intel is being framed as strategically important, with investors focused on supply-chain diversification and a longer-term domestic chip roadmap that could benefit future product cycles. Apple-Intel chip deal makes strategic sense but production is years away
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentaries say Apple shares are building toward a possible breakout, with the stock staying close to its all-time high and forming a fresh buy zone as momentum improves. Apple Stock Polishing New Buy Zone With All-Time High In Sight
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also drawing attention for comments from Eddy Cue about expanding entertainment offerings on Apple TV and in theaters, which supports the long-term services story but is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Apple aims for better and more entertainment offerings, executive Cue says
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still weighing headwinds from rising memory costs and the possibility of iPhone price increases, which could pressure demand if Apple passes through higher component prices. Apple Price Hike Fears May Be Overblown, Says J.P. Morgan
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces legal overhang after a UK tribunal allowed a $4 billion iCloud class-action lawsuit to proceed, adding another potential regulatory and financial risk. Apple supplier Lingyi iTech prices $1.06 billion Hong Kong IPO to tap AI demand

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. KGI Securities lowered Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $293.05 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.26 and a 52-week high of $317.40. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $291.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.15.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

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.