895,540 Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Retirement Planning Group LLC

Key Points

• Retirement Planning Group LLC increased its Apple stake by 556.2% in the third quarter, adding 895,540 shares to hold 1,056,547 shares worth about $351.9 million. Apple now represents 8% of the firm’s portfolio and is its second-largest holding.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $2.10 per share, beating the $1.99 consensus estimate, while revenue of $114.48 billion exceeded forecasts and rose 11.7% year over year.
• Shares recently climbed 5.3%, but the article notes risks including rising memory costs that could pressure holiday-quarter margins; analyst views are mixed, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy.”

Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 556.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,056,547 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 895,540 shares during the period. Apple comprises 8.0% of Retirement Planning Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Retirement Planning Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $351,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 11.7% during the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 66,699 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,212,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977 shares during the period. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 28,668 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $9,547,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Peirce Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 11.1% in the third quarter. Peirce Capital Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the third quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 105,218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $35,040,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 35,220 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,729,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 5.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $349.51 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.42 and a 52-week high of $354.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $334.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.58. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 125.35%. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 12.39%.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Post-election relief helped lift major technology stocks, including Apple, as investors saw reduced near-term uncertainty. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reached a record high amid signs of renewed demand. Investors are also weighing the rollout of Apple Intelligence in China, which could help close a competitive gap in a major market. Invezz article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reducing employee budgets for AI tools as it seeks to manage expenses, while reported research costs have climbed 32%. Cost control may help, but the spending trend underscores the expense of competing in AI. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory prices remain a key risk to profitability: Apple expects higher component costs to pressure holiday-quarter gross margins, and its manufacturing purchase commitments have increased. MarketBeat article
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and margin concerns persist despite the rally; DZ Bank downgraded Apple to sell, citing a $300 price target. MarketBeat ratings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Moffett Nathanson set a $283.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. KeyCorp reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Guggenheim set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $343.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 46,389 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total value of $480,309.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,051,831.95. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 289,252 shares of company stock valued at $96,301,063. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple's services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.

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