69,651 Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL Acquired by J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc.

J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 69,651 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $18,936,000. Apple accounts for 4.4% of J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, 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 transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is becoming more optimistic about Apple’s new Siri and AI strategy after the post-WWDC selloff, suggesting investors may be overreacting to near-term skepticism. After an Initial Panic, Wall Street’s Leaning Into Apple’s New Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple has agreed to partner with Intel to design and manufacture chips in the U.S. are being viewed as a supply-chain diversification win and a long-term catalyst for Apple’s hardware roadmap. Apple’s Intel Deal Arrives at the Right Time for Its Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook’s comments about higher memory costs and upcoming price increases are being interpreted by some analysts as supportive of Apple’s earnings power, since price hikes could help offset component inflation. Apple: Empirical Evidence Suggests Upcoming Price Hikes Will Boost Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s TV and streaming strategy is drawing attention, but the discussion appears more explanatory than immediately material to the stock. Apple Explains TV Library Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks comparison of NVIDIA and Apple highlights Apple’s lower valuation and services strength, reinforcing the stock’s defensive appeal without changing the near-term setup. NVIDIA vs. Apple: Which Tech Titan Is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Britain’s competition tribunal approved a £3 billion class action over iCloud fees, adding a meaningful legal overhang and potential financial liability for Apple. UK tribunal gives go ahead for $4 billion lawsuit against Apple over iCloud services
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces reputational risk after closing its first unionized U.S. store, with the union accusing the company of retaliation. Apple Just Closed Its First Unionized U.S. Store
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say Apple is forcing price increases on hardware because memory and chip costs are rising, which could pressure demand if consumers push back. Memory’s price surge threatens Apple’s ‘magic formula’ — and the economy

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $294.98 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $291.15 and its 200 day moving average is $273.06. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.26 and a 12 month high of $317.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. 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 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s 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.