Apple Inc. $AAPL is Atlas Brown Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Atlas Brown Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,986 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,179 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.2% of Atlas Brown Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $17,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 6.4% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Apple Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $284.29 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $292.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.20. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.26 and a twelve month high of $317.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is 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.