Equita Financial Network Inc. Buys 4,774 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Equita Financial Network Inc. lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 132.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,390 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 4,774 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 0.7% of Equita Financial Network Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Equita Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Investment Co lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $315.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.50 and a 52-week high of $317.40. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new lawsuit against OpenAI could help protect its hardware roadmap and reinforce its control over proprietary technology, which may support its long-term competitive position. Reuters: Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines around Apple’s expanded multi-year chip deal with Broadcom continue to boost sentiment, since the agreement strengthens Apple’s supply chain, supports U.S. manufacturing, and deepens its custom silicon strategy. Yahoo Finance: Apple Secures Largest Ever US Chip Deal With Broadcom For $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also named among approved U.S. companies eligible for license-free exports under eased UAE trade rules, which is supportive for international operations but not clearly a near-term stock catalyst. Quiver Quant: U.S. eases export controls on UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, suggesting today’s move is being driven more by news flow than by a shift in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit also highlights that Apple’s relationship with a major AI player has soured, adding uncertainty around future AI partnerships and potentially distracting management with litigation. Financial Times: Apple sues OpenAI, alleging it stole top-secret information

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.