Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV Has $11.11 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,700 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 1.5% of Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,266,468,000. 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 Down 0.3%

AAPL traded down $0.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $315.32. 34,104,441 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 60,736,044. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $299.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.26. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.50 and a twelve month high of $317.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. 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%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, KGI Securities downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.