SMART Wealth LLC Acquires 2,724 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

SMART Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,375 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,724 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.2% of SMART Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. SMART Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. 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 report on Friday, April 17th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other 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 transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

AAPL opened at $315.32 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $299.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.50 and a twelve month 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. 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 is a positive change 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%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Key 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

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.