Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC Decreases Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,234 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,176 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.2% of Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group set a $296.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.74.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $308.82 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $269.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.62. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.46 and a 12-month high of $311.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during 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 quarter last year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

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.