10,914 Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL Acquired by BDFS Capital LLC

Key Points

• BDFS Capital LLC initiated a new position in Apple, buying 10,914 shares valued at about $2.97 million. The stake represents roughly 1.5% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Apple’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with $2.01 EPS versus $1.95 expected and $111.18 billion in revenue, up 16.6% year over year. Analysts now see Apple posting 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $314.59. Separately, Apple raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26.

BDFS Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,967,000. Apple comprises approximately 1.5% of BDFS Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in 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 in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson raised their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.59.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.85 and a 12 month high of $317.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $289.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $272.98.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned price increases could protect margins as memory and storage costs rise, and Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of upcoming AI-focused devices and a second-generation iPhone Air support confidence in Apple’s product pipeline and longer-term growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s planned price hikes may help earnings, but they could also pressure demand if consumers balk at higher handset prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple opening Brazil’s App Store to alternative marketplaces reduces regulatory friction there, but it also underscores ongoing global platform scrutiny. Article Title

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.

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