Buffalo Business & Estate Services Ltd. Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Buffalo Business & Estate Services Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 5.1% of Buffalo Business & Estate Services Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Buffalo Business & Estate Services Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $35,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $69,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.2%

Apple stock opened at $284.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $292.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.17. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.26 and a 12 month high of $317.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

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.