Wealth Care LLC Invests $3.51 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Wealth Care LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 13,844 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,513,000. Apple comprises about 3.1% of Wealth Care LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

AAPL traded down $0.90 on Friday, hitting $315.32. The company had a trading volume of 34,104,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,736,044. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $299.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $275.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS 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 dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

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

About Apple

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.