Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Boosted by Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC

Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,661 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,990 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 6.8% of Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $308.63 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.50 and a 12 month high of $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple plans at least five new iPhone models through early 2027, including a stronger foldable iPhone push, have reinforced expectations for a fresh product cycle and a longer growth runway. Apple plans five new iPhones through 2027, eyes Chinese-made chips amid foldable push, reports say
• Positive Sentiment: Apple also appears to be benefiting from investor optimism that it can navigate the memory-chip shortage and secure supply, including possible deals with lower-cost Chinese chipmakers, which could help protect future production. Apple negotiates with blacklisted Chinese chipmakers amid AI-driven memory crunch
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces said Apple is holding up better than the broader tech sector, with traders viewing recent weakness as a buying opportunity and analysts still pointing to solid upside potential. Apple’s Aggressive Price Hikes Raise Eyebrows As Wall Street Links AI Chip Shortages To Inflation Pressure
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent price hikes on Macs and iPads are being interpreted two ways: as a sign of inflationary component costs, but also as a margin-protection move that may not hurt demand as much as feared. Jim Cramer’s Latest Thought on Apple Inc. (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s insider-selling activity and mixed institutional positioning are adding caution, but they are not the main driver of the stock today. Apple Stock (AAPL) Opinions on Recent Price Hikes and Analyst Views
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage continues to flag pressure on Apple’s margins and demand if higher component costs force more price increases, which could weigh on sentiment over time. Is Apple stock in trouble? Rising costs threaten margins, demand

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. 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. KGI Securities lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.