5,920 Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL Bought by Van Diest Capital LLC

Key Points

• Van Diest Capital LLC opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 5,920 shares worth about $1.61 million. Apple now makes up roughly 2.4% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 8th-largest holding.
• Several Apple insiders sold shares in pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transactions, including SVP Deirdre O’Brien and CEO Tim Cook. In total, insiders sold 97,875 shares worth about $25.0 million over the last quarter.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Apple, with analysts citing upside from pricing power, a strong supply chain, and resilience amid AI-related memory shortages. The stock’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $314.59.

Van Diest Capital 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,609,000. Apple accounts for approximately 2.4% of Van Diest Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Orion Investment Co boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.59.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating on Apple and kept a $380 price target, citing Apple’s pricing power, strong supply-chain position, and ability to manage rising memory costs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: President Trump said Apple will work with Intel to design and build chips in the U.S., raising hopes for a domestic supply-chain boost and stronger strategic positioning for Apple. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said Apple is relatively well positioned to weather the AI-driven memory shortage because of its scale, inventory, and supplier relationships, which may help protect hardware margins. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple reportedly plans to raise prices across its product lineup, which could support margins but may also weigh on consumer demand if the increases are too large. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also reportedly developing new AI wearables and a foldable iPhone for 2027, which supports the long-term product pipeline but is unlikely to affect near-term earnings. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Italy opened a Digital Markets Act probe into Apple’s cloud interoperability practices, adding another regulatory risk for the company in Europe. Article Title

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $288.95 and its 200-day moving average is $272.80. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.85 and a twelve month high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.