Apple Inc. $AAPL is Ascentis Independent Advisors’ 2nd Largest Position

Ascentis Independent Advisors grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 133.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 247,516 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 141,635 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.8% of Ascentis Independent Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Ascentis Independent Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $62,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $333.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.50 and a 1 year high of $334.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $303.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Finally, KGI Securities cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.43.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Buy and raised its price target to $366 from $260, saying the company is at an operational turning point with AI features and hardware momentum supporting growth. HSBC upgrades Apple to Buy, sees “strong cycle ahead”
• Positive Sentiment: China approved Apple Intelligence for iPhones, and Apple will integrate Alibaba’s Qwen AI model in its China rollout, a key step that could expand Apple’s AI adoption in one of its most important markets. Alibaba and Baidu shares jump in Hong Kong on Apple AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple briefly overtook Nvidia in market value, reinforcing the view that investors are rotating toward Apple’s consumer execution and away from some AI-heavy names. Apple closes in on Nvidia in race for world’s most valuable company
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentaries highlighted Apple’s cash generation, shareholder returns, and robotics/innovation efforts, supporting the bullish “cash flow machine” and diversification narrative. Apple’s Core Business Cash Flow Machine Will Support Innovation and Diversification

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.