True Link Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.29 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

True Link Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 56.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,759 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $308.82 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.46 and a 52 week high of $311.40. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.62. The company has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.74.

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.