Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Elevated Capital Advisors LLC

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,998 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,274 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.9% of Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the first quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial set a $380.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday. UBS Group set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.83.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $321.66 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.50 and a 1 year high of $334.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $305.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford will integrate Apple Maps and Apple software into upcoming lower-cost EVs and self-driving features, expanding Apple’s automotive footprint and creating another potential platform for its services ecosystem. Ford Will Use Apple Software in New Self-Driving System
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is preparing a smarter shopping assistant for the App Store and testing a more AI-driven buying experience suggest new ways to improve commerce, engagement, and monetization across its ecosystem. Apple Tests Smarter Shopping Experience
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains constructive in places, with Morgan Stanley reportedly raising its Apple target and several pieces arguing Apple could be an underappreciated AI beneficiary as it readies new Macs, iMacs, and other hardware built for AI demand. Apple Plans To Overhaul Computers to Meet AI Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Samsung’s new foldables and the broader “AI hardware” race are keeping Apple in the spotlight, but the news is mostly competitive context rather than a direct near-term catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple lost a key court bid, leaving a $634 million Apple Watch blood-oxygen patent verdict in place, which keeps legal overhangs alive and could raise investor concern about additional costs or product restrictions. Apple Fails to Overturn $634 Million Masimo Verdict
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple market notes point to Apple’s valuation being rich and the stock being vulnerable to volatility into earnings, with some analysts warning that momentum may be peaking after a strong run.

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.