Facet Wealth Inc. Boosts Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Facet Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,452 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,374 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 0.7% of Facet Wealth Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Facet Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $39,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the third quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.74.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly cutting prices in China ahead of the June 18 “618” shopping holiday, a move that could boost unit sales and help defend market share in a key region, according to Wedbush. Dear Apple Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 18
• Positive Sentiment: Apple was highlighted as a top-ranked momentum stock by Zacks, reinforcing the idea that the shares continue to attract technical and style-based buying interest. Apple (AAPL) is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Memorial Day tech promotions featuring Apple products may support short-term demand and keep the brand top of mind with consumers during a heavy shopping period. Memorial Day tech sales are live: Save up to 50% off on some of our favorite gadgets at Amazon, Apple, Best Buy and more
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces framed Apple as a core mega-cap stock, but they did not introduce new fundamentals that would materially change the near-term outlook. Instead of Chasing Alpha, Here Are 4 Ways to Pick the Low-Hanging Apples
• Neutral Sentiment: Other articles discussed Apple in broader tech or portfolio contexts, including comparisons with Microsoft and ETF exposure, which are more informational than stock-moving on their own. Apple vs. Microsoft: What Their Revenue Trends Reveal for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Huawei’s new smartphone chip plans add another competitive overhang for Apple, raising concerns about iPhone demand in China and the broader premium-phone market. Huawei unveils new smartphone chips this fall as rivalry with Nvidia and Apple heats up
• Negative Sentiment: A Bloomberg report said Apple’s Watch and health strategy needs a reboot to stay competitive, suggesting wearables remain an area where rivals could gain ground. Apple’s Watch and Health Efforts Need Reboot to Rival New Wearables
• Negative Sentiment: Some opinion pieces argued Apple may eventually lose momentum versus other mega-cap winners, which could weigh on sentiment even though these were long-term speculative takes rather than immediate catalysts. 3 Reasons Apple Will Be Booted From The Magnificent 7 By The End Of 2030

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $308.82 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $270.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.90. The company has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.46 and a fifty-two week high of $311.40.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. 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. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

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.