Wealth Care LLC Acquires New Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Wealth Care LLC bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,844 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,513,000. Apple makes up approximately 3.1% of Wealth Care LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Overbrook Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,189,000 after buying an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 108.3% in the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,880,000 after buying an additional 18,188 shares during the period. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $105,482,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 26th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. KGI Securities lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $315.32. 34,104,441 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,736,044. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $317.40.

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. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new lawsuit against OpenAI could help protect its hardware roadmap and reinforce its control over proprietary technology, which may support its long-term competitive position. Reuters: Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines around Apple’s expanded multi-year chip deal with Broadcom continue to boost sentiment, since the agreement strengthens Apple’s supply chain, supports U.S. manufacturing, and deepens its custom silicon strategy. Yahoo Finance: Apple Secures Largest Ever US Chip Deal With Broadcom For $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also named among approved U.S. companies eligible for license-free exports under eased UAE trade rules, which is supportive for international operations but not clearly a near-term stock catalyst. Quiver Quant: U.S. eases export controls on UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, suggesting today’s move is being driven more by news flow than by a shift in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit also highlights that Apple’s relationship with a major AI player has soured, adding uncertainty around future AI partnerships and potentially distracting management with litigation. Financial Times: Apple sues OpenAI, alleging it stole top-secret information

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.