Abacus FCF Advisors LLC Buys 54,156 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its Apple stake by 66.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 54,156 additional shares and bringing its total position to 135,833 shares worth about $36.9 million.
• Apple insiders sold shares during the quarter, including CEO Tim Cook and SVP Deirdre O'Brien, with total insider sales of 97,759 shares valued at roughly $25 million.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on Apple, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $308.74, while the company also recently beat quarterly earnings and raised its dividend.

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 66.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,833 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 54,156 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 4.8% of Abacus FCF Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $36,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. High Point Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $528,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 150,064 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $40,796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,001,087 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $272,156,000 after acquiring an additional 31,284 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 105,881 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Finally, McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,257 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,235,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $253.00 price objective (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.74.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly cutting prices in China ahead of the June 18 “618” shopping holiday, a move that could boost unit sales and help defend market share in a key region, according to Wedbush. Dear Apple Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 18
• Positive Sentiment: Apple was highlighted as a top-ranked momentum stock by Zacks, reinforcing the idea that the shares continue to attract technical and style-based buying interest. Apple (AAPL) is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Memorial Day tech promotions featuring Apple products may support short-term demand and keep the brand top of mind with consumers during a heavy shopping period. Memorial Day tech sales are live: Save up to 50% off on some of our favorite gadgets at Amazon, Apple, Best Buy and more
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces framed Apple as a core mega-cap stock, but they did not introduce new fundamentals that would materially change the near-term outlook. Instead of Chasing Alpha, Here Are 4 Ways to Pick the Low-Hanging Apples
• Neutral Sentiment: Other articles discussed Apple in broader tech or portfolio contexts, including comparisons with Microsoft and ETF exposure, which are more informational than stock-moving on their own. Apple vs. Microsoft: What Their Revenue Trends Reveal for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Huawei’s new smartphone chip plans add another competitive overhang for Apple, raising concerns about iPhone demand in China and the broader premium-phone market. Huawei unveils new smartphone chips this fall as rivalry with Nvidia and Apple heats up
• Negative Sentiment: A Bloomberg report said Apple’s Watch and health strategy needs a reboot to stay competitive, suggesting wearables remain an area where rivals could gain ground. Apple’s Watch and Health Efforts Need Reboot to Rival New Wearables
• Negative Sentiment: Some opinion pieces argued Apple may eventually lose momentum versus other mega-cap winners, which could weigh on sentiment even though these were long-term speculative takes rather than immediate catalysts. 3 Reasons Apple Will Be Booted From The Magnificent 7 By The End Of 2030

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $308.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $270.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.90. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $311.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Apple 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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