Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by Ferguson Shapiro LLC

Ferguson Shapiro LLC lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 22.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,931 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,586 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.9% of Ferguson Shapiro LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Ferguson Shapiro LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new lawsuit against OpenAI could help protect its hardware roadmap and reinforce its control over proprietary technology, which may support its long-term competitive position. Reuters: Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines around Apple’s expanded multi-year chip deal with Broadcom continue to boost sentiment, since the agreement strengthens Apple’s supply chain, supports U.S. manufacturing, and deepens its custom silicon strategy. Yahoo Finance: Apple Secures Largest Ever US Chip Deal With Broadcom For $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also named among approved U.S. companies eligible for license-free exports under eased UAE trade rules, which is supportive for international operations but not clearly a near-term stock catalyst. Quiver Quant: U.S. eases export controls on UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, suggesting today’s move is being driven more by news flow than by a shift in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit also highlights that Apple’s relationship with a major AI player has soured, adding uncertainty around future AI partnerships and potentially distracting management with litigation. Financial Times: Apple sues OpenAI, alleging it stole top-secret information

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $315.32 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $299.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.85.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Company 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.