95,526 Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL Acquired by SG Trading Solutions LLC

Key Points

• SG Trading Solutions LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Apple, buying 95,526 shares valued at about $26 million. Apple now makes up roughly 6% of the firm’s portfolio and is its second-largest holding.
• Apple remains a favorite among institutions and analysts: hedge funds own 67.73% of the stock, and Wall Street’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $314.59.
• The company’s latest results were strong, with EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion beating estimates, while Apple also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

SG Trading Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 95,526 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $25,970,000. Apple accounts for approximately 6.0% of SG Trading Solutions LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DiPaolo Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $916,000. Nolet Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,553,000. Investment Insight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,052,000. Stone Wealth Partners bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,367,000. Finally, Lynch Investment Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,176,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple News Summary

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.59.

Insider Activity

In other Apple 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value 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 $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.85 and a 1-year high of $317.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $289.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $272.98.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

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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