ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 99.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 29,174 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.3% of ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Towercrest Capital Management raised its holdings in Apple by 2.3% during the first quarter. Towercrest Capital Management now owns 34,126 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,661,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 221,609 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $56,242,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Clientfirst Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the first quarter. Clientfirst Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,002 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,807,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Seneca House Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Seneca House Advisors now owns 20,313 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,155,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seaside Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Seaside Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,355 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $333.02 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $306.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.09. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.50 and a twelve month high of $334.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group set a $365.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 13th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford said it will embed Apple Maps into upcoming EVs, expanding Apple’s software reach and reinforcing the value of its ecosystem. Ford Embeds Apple Maps Directly into Upcoming EVs
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Apple and reiterated an Outperform rating, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Apple as outperforming the broader market, supported by strong ratings and a favorable chart setup ahead of earnings. Why is Apple stock outperforming the broader market?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also the subject of discussion around upcoming product launches, AI features, and a possible device-leasing program, which could support demand but remain unconfirmed or longer-term in nature.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted concerns that Apple’s valuation is stretched heading into earnings, and insider sales plus short-interest chatter may temper enthusiasm if results disappoint.

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.