Element Squared LLC Has $2.31 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Element Squared LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 31.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,124 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.3% of Element Squared LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Element Squared LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $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 worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Key Apple News

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $315.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $317.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $299.55 and its 200-day moving average is $275.26.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. 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 yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

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.