LifeSteps Financial Inc. Lowers Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

LifeSteps Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,692 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,057 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 4.8% of LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stephens set a $315.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.74.

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $308.82 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.46 and a 52-week high of $311.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $269.64 and a 200 day moving average of $268.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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.