Fund Advisors of America Inc FL Takes $6.47 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Fund Advisors of America Inc FL acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 23,804 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,471,000. Apple comprises approximately 5.9% of Fund Advisors of America Inc FL’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Overbrook Management Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,449,000 after buying an additional 38,174 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,178,000. Tufton Capital Management lifted its stake in Apple by 4.3% in the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $105,482,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Apple by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,915,172,000 after purchasing an additional 214,215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Apple Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of AAPL opened at $294.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.06. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.26 and a twelve month high of $317.40.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Apple News Roundup

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 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.