Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 169.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 550,012 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 346,039 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 6.1% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $139,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Apple by 890.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 20,464.8% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during 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 the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $333.02 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.50 and a 1 year high of $334.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $306.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford said it will embed Apple Maps into upcoming EVs, expanding Apple’s software reach and reinforcing the value of its ecosystem. Ford Embeds Apple Maps Directly into Upcoming EVs
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Apple and reiterated an Outperform rating, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Apple as outperforming the broader market, supported by strong ratings and a favorable chart setup ahead of earnings. Why is Apple stock outperforming the broader market?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also the subject of discussion around upcoming product launches, AI features, and a possible device-leasing program, which could support demand but remain unconfirmed or longer-term in nature.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted concerns that Apple’s valuation is stretched heading into earnings, and insider sales plus short-interest chatter may temper enthusiasm if results disappoint.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.40.

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.