Parker Financial LLC Acquires 1,674 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Parker Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 42.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,585 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,674 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 0.6% of Parker Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Parker Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in 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. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple plans at least five new iPhone models through early 2027, including a stronger foldable iPhone push, have reinforced expectations for a fresh product cycle and a longer growth runway. Apple plans five new iPhones through 2027, eyes Chinese-made chips amid foldable push, reports say
• Positive Sentiment: Apple also appears to be benefiting from investor optimism that it can navigate the memory-chip shortage and secure supply, including possible deals with lower-cost Chinese chipmakers, which could help protect future production. Apple negotiates with blacklisted Chinese chipmakers amid AI-driven memory crunch
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces said Apple is holding up better than the broader tech sector, with traders viewing recent weakness as a buying opportunity and analysts still pointing to solid upside potential. Apple’s Aggressive Price Hikes Raise Eyebrows As Wall Street Links AI Chip Shortages To Inflation Pressure
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent price hikes on Macs and iPads are being interpreted two ways: as a sign of inflationary component costs, but also as a margin-protection move that may not hurt demand as much as feared. Jim Cramer’s Latest Thought on Apple Inc. (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s insider-selling activity and mixed institutional positioning are adding caution, but they are not the main driver of the stock today. Apple Stock (AAPL) Opinions on Recent Price Hikes and Analyst Views
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage continues to flag pressure on Apple’s margins and demand if higher component costs force more price increases, which could weigh on sentiment over time. Is Apple stock in trouble? Rising costs threaten margins, demand

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $308.63 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.50 and a 52 week 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. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $295.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. KGI Securities cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.85.

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.