Abel Hall LLC Grows Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Abel Hall LLC increased its Apple stake by 16.2% in the first quarter, adding 5,521 shares to bring its total to 39,696 shares worth about $10.1 million.
• Apple is getting a fresh boost from analysts and AI developments: HSBC upgraded the stock to Buy with a $366 target, and China approved Apple Intelligence for iPhones with Alibaba’s Qwen model set to support the rollout.
• The company continues to show strong financial momentum, with quarterly earnings of $2.01 per share and revenue of $111.18 billion beating estimates, while Apple also raised its dividend to $0.27 per share.

Abel Hall LLC grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,696 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 5,521 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.1% of Abel Hall LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Abel Hall LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $10,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 134,963 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,252,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 9.3% during the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 76,189 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $19,336,000 after buying an additional 6,496 shares during the last quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 133.8% during the first quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors now owns 247,516 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,818,000 after purchasing an additional 141,635 shares during the period. Seascape Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 29,047 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,372,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 16.4% during the first quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 19,291 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Apple Inc. NASDAQ: AAPL to Buy and raised its price target to $366 from $260, saying the company is at an operational turning point with AI features and hardware momentum supporting growth. HSBC upgrades Apple to Buy, sees "strong cycle ahead"
• Positive Sentiment: China approved Apple Intelligence for iPhones, and Apple will integrate Alibaba’s Qwen AI model in its China rollout, a key step that could expand Apple’s AI adoption in one of its most important markets. Alibaba and Baidu shares jump in Hong Kong on Apple AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple briefly overtook Nvidia in market value, reinforcing the view that investors are rotating toward Apple’s consumer execution and away from some AI-heavy names. Apple closes in on Nvidia in race for world's most valuable company
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentaries highlighted Apple’s cash generation, shareholder returns, and robotics/innovation efforts, supporting the bullish “cash flow machine” and diversification narrative. Apple’s Core Business Cash Flow Machine Will Support Innovation and Diversification

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $318.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.1%

AAPL opened at $333.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $201.50 and a one year high of $334.99. The business's fifty day moving average is $303.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.09. The company has a market cap of $4.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend 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.

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