Simon Quick Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 286,882 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 17,200 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.4% of Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $77,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its position in shares of Apple by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.74.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly cutting prices in China ahead of the June 18 “618” shopping holiday, a move that could boost unit sales and help defend market share in a key region, according to Wedbush. Dear Apple Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 18
• Positive Sentiment: Apple was highlighted as a top-ranked momentum stock by Zacks, reinforcing the idea that the shares continue to attract technical and style-based buying interest. Apple (AAPL) is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Memorial Day tech promotions featuring Apple products may support short-term demand and keep the brand top of mind with consumers during a heavy shopping period. Memorial Day tech sales are live: Save up to 50% off on some of our favorite gadgets at Amazon, Apple, Best Buy and more
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces framed Apple as a core mega-cap stock, but they did not introduce new fundamentals that would materially change the near-term outlook. Instead of Chasing Alpha, Here Are 4 Ways to Pick the Low-Hanging Apples
• Neutral Sentiment: Other articles discussed Apple in broader tech or portfolio contexts, including comparisons with Microsoft and ETF exposure, which are more informational than stock-moving on their own. Apple vs. Microsoft: What Their Revenue Trends Reveal for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Huawei’s new smartphone chip plans add another competitive overhang for Apple, raising concerns about iPhone demand in China and the broader premium-phone market. Huawei unveils new smartphone chips this fall as rivalry with Nvidia and Apple heats up
• Negative Sentiment: A Bloomberg report said Apple’s Watch and health strategy needs a reboot to stay competitive, suggesting wearables remain an area where rivals could gain ground. Apple’s Watch and Health Efforts Need Reboot to Rival New Wearables
• Negative Sentiment: Some opinion pieces argued Apple may eventually lose momentum versus other mega-cap winners, which could weigh on sentiment even though these were long-term speculative takes rather than immediate catalysts. 3 Reasons Apple Will Be Booted From The Magnificent 7 By The End Of 2030

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $308.82 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $270.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.90. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.46 and a 52-week high of $311.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. 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 announced 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors 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 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 payout ratio is 13.06%.

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.