ARS Investment Partners LLC Acquires 16,531 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

ARS Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 334,764 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,531 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.4% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $84,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 6.4% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new Siri and broader AI reset is being viewed positively by analysts, with BofA reiterating a Buy rating and saying the WWDC update could strengthen Apple’s AI position and support the stock. BofA Says Apple’s (AAPL) New Siri Strategy Could Strengthen its AI Position
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s reported chip partnership with Intel is being framed as strategically important, with investors focused on supply-chain diversification and a longer-term domestic chip roadmap that could benefit future product cycles. Apple-Intel chip deal makes strategic sense but production is years away
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentaries say Apple shares are building toward a possible breakout, with the stock staying close to its all-time high and forming a fresh buy zone as momentum improves. Apple Stock Polishing New Buy Zone With All-Time High In Sight
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also drawing attention for comments from Eddy Cue about expanding entertainment offerings on Apple TV and in theaters, which supports the long-term services story but is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Apple aims for better and more entertainment offerings, executive Cue says
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still weighing headwinds from rising memory costs and the possibility of iPhone price increases, which could pressure demand if Apple passes through higher component prices. Apple Price Hike Fears May Be Overblown, Says J.P. Morgan
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces legal overhang after a UK tribunal allowed a $4 billion iCloud class-action lawsuit to proceed, adding another potential regulatory and financial risk. Apple supplier Lingyi iTech prices $1.06 billion Hong Kong IPO to tap AI demand

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $293.05 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.26 and a 52 week high of $317.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

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. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

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.