Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1,896.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 42,922 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,772 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Investment Co lifted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

More Apple News

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.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $333.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $306.62 and a 200 day moving average of $279.01. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.50 and a 12 month high of $334.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other 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 sale, the insider directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.40.

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.