Christine Messmer PC Takes Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Christine Messmer PC bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 28,619 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,780,000. Apple accounts for about 5.1% of Christine Messmer PC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first 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 during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.31.

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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of WWDC, with Apple expected to unveil key AI features that could improve Siri and strengthen its software ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s MacBook Neo is reportedly gaining traction with new buyers, suggesting the company is still expanding its hardware appeal beyond its core customer base. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been lifting targets on AAPL ahead of WWDC, reflecting confidence that Apple’s AI strategy and software roadmap could reaccelerate growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: New Apple Wallet bill-splitting and payment-request features may help deepen engagement, but the immediate stock impact is less clear because the move is incremental rather than transformative. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is being discussed as a potentially overvalued stock after its recent rally, which could limit upside if WWDC disappoints expectations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Dell and Nvidia have intensified competition in PCs and laptops, pressuring Apple’s positioning in hardware categories like the MacBook Neo. Article Title

Apple Trading Up 2.9%

AAPL opened at $315.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $276.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $270.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $195.07 and a 12-month high of $315.45.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.