Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Raised by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,007,492 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,716 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.3% of HighTower Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,992,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $307.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.37. The company has a market cap of $4.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.07 and a fifty-two week high of $316.94. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC keynote is expected to highlight a revamped Siri, Apple Intelligence updates, and a broader AI strategy, which could act as a near-term catalyst if the company shows meaningful progress. Will WWDC Drive Apple Stock (AAPL) Higher? Here’s What Analysts Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with Citi reiterating a Buy and Wedbush reaffirming Outperform with a $400 target, citing Apple’s AI inflection point and resilient iPhone fundamentals. Asiya Merchant Reiterates Buy on Apple, Citing AI Strategy Inflection and Resilient iPhone Fundamentals
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store update showed $1.4 trillion in sales and billings last year, reinforcing the scale of its Services ecosystem even as most transactions did not carry a commission. Apple touts $1.4 trillion in App Store billings and sales, 90% without a commission
• Positive Sentiment: Foxconn raised its second-quarter outlook, a constructive signal for Apple’s supply chain and iPhone demand, since Foxconn is Apple’s top iPhone assembler. Taiwan’s Foxconn raises guidance for second-quarter outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple may rely on Google cloud infrastructure and Nvidia chips to power a redesigned Siri suggest the company is prioritizing speed to market, but they also underscore that Apple is leaning on outside partners for its AI push. Apple Taps Google to Prep Siri For September Revamp
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns that Apple still faces a high bar to justify its valuation, and UBS noted decelerating App Store growth could pressure the Services growth story if AI execution disappoints. Investors Should Worry About Apple’s (AAPL) Decelerating App Store Growth, Says UBS

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.82.

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.