Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1,896.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,922 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,772 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford said it will embed Apple Maps into upcoming EVs, expanding Apple’s software reach and reinforcing the value of its ecosystem. Ford Embeds Apple Maps Directly into Upcoming EVs
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Apple and reiterated an Outperform rating, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Apple as outperforming the broader market, supported by strong ratings and a favorable chart setup ahead of earnings. Why is Apple stock outperforming the broader market?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also the subject of discussion around upcoming product launches, AI features, and a possible device-leasing program, which could support demand but remain unconfirmed or longer-term in nature.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted concerns that Apple’s valuation is stretched heading into earnings, and insider sales plus short-interest chatter may temper enthusiasm if results disappoint.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $333.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.10. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $201.50 and a one year high of $334.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $306.62 and its 200 day moving average is $279.01.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.40.

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.