145,017 Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL Acquired by SageGuard Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• SageGuard Financial Group LLC opened a new Apple position in the fourth quarter, buying 145,017 shares worth about $39.4 million. Apple is now the firm’s largest holding, representing 6.3% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, both above Wall Street estimates. Revenue also rose 16.6% year over year, reinforcing momentum in the business.
• The company also raised its dividend to $0.27 per share quarterly, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $308.74. However, several Apple executives recently sold shares, including the CFO and an SVP.

SageGuard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 145,017 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $39,424,000. Apple accounts for 6.3% of SageGuard Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position 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 buying an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $300.23 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $193.46 and a one year high of $303.20. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $265.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.47.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group set a $296.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.74.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s post-earnings rally continues after the company posted record quarterly revenue and EPS, boosted its dividend, and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analysts say the results support further upside and have raised price targets. Apple Stock Hits All-Time High as Post-Earnings Rally Continues
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Apple to $365 and said a bull-case scenario could reach $500, citing compounding growth from Services and Apple’s ability to keep expanding free cash flow. Evercore ISI Hikes Apple Price Target to $365
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being helped by reports that iPhone demand remains strong globally, plus Soros Fund Management reportedly boosted its Apple position during the quarter. George Soros’s fund buys Berkshire Hathaway stock — now that Buffett is gone
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut iPhone 17 prices in China ahead of the 618 shopping festival, which could help support unit sales in a key market. Apple Cuts iPhone 17 Prices in China
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is considering legal action over its strained ChatGPT partnership with Apple, which adds uncertainty around Apple’s AI strategy and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. OpenAI explores legal options against Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic’s Mythos AI found vulnerabilities in Apple’s macOS/iOS are a reminder of ongoing security scrutiny, but the news is more reputational than fundamentally financial for now. Anthropic's Mythos Helped Find Bugs in Apple's Desktop Operating System

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 valued at $24,964,305. Company 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.

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