Ninety One North America Inc. Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Ninety One North America Inc. acquired a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 24,998 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,796,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $294.80 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.73. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.46 and a 12 month high of $295.27. The company has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming WWDC is seen as a major catalyst that could reset investor expectations around its AI roadmap and support another leg higher if management delivers a stronger vision for Siri, iOS, and future devices. The Event That Could Redefine Apple’s Summer Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is also being viewed more favorably after reports highlighted strong supply-chain execution, continued AI-services potential, and a growing case for the stock as a momentum name. Apple (AAPL) Gains Wall Street Confidence on Supply Chain Strength and AI Services Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Google are rolling out end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging between iPhone and Android users, which should improve the messaging experience and support the ecosystem value proposition. Apple And Google Finally Close SMS Security Gap…
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Apple is planning customizable camera controls and Siri design changes in iOS 27, which could help future product appeal but are still early-stage software rumors. Apple Plans Customizable Camera for Pros, Siri Design Changes in iOS 27
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s director and an insider both sold shares recently, which can create some caution, but the sales appear modest relative to Apple’s overall size and recent record earnings. Apple Board Veteran Sells $71 Million in Stock After Record Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: A new federal appeals-court decision temporarily keeping Trump’s 10% global tariffs in place could preserve cost pressure on imported consumer electronics, including Apple products. Appeals Court Temporarily Reinstates Trump’s 10% Global Tariffs
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares, a small signal that may slightly dampen sentiment, though it is not large enough on its own to change the broader bullish narrative. SEC insider filing

Apple 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.