Stack Financial Management Inc Buys 4,158 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Stack Financial Management Inc boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 206.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,174 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,158 shares during the quarter. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.9% in the third quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $315.20 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.07 and a 1 year high of $315.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $276.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.28. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.09. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company 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 company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.31.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of WWDC, with Apple expected to unveil key AI features that could improve Siri and strengthen its software ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s MacBook Neo is reportedly gaining traction with new buyers, suggesting the company is still expanding its hardware appeal beyond its core customer base. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been lifting targets on AAPL ahead of WWDC, reflecting confidence that Apple’s AI strategy and software roadmap could reaccelerate growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: New Apple Wallet bill-splitting and payment-request features may help deepen engagement, but the immediate stock impact is less clear because the move is incremental rather than transformative. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is being discussed as a potentially overvalued stock after its recent rally, which could limit upside if WWDC disappoints expectations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Dell and Nvidia have intensified competition in PCs and laptops, pressuring Apple’s positioning in hardware categories like the MacBook Neo. Article Title

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.