Apollon Financial LLC Raises Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Apollon Financial LLC increased its stake in Apple by 3.4% to 81,475 shares (about $22.15 million), making Apple roughly 3.2% of Apollon's portfolio and its third-largest holding.
• Apple beat Q2 expectations with $2.01 EPS and $111.18 billion revenue, cited “extraordinary” iPhone 17 demand, raised fiscal guidance, added $100 billion to its buyback program, and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.27.
• Insider activity: CEO Tim Cook and SVP Deirdre O’Brien sold shares under pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans (totaling 96,485 shares, about $24.6 million over the last three months); insiders now own roughly 0.06% of the company.

Apollon Financial LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,475 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,662 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.2% of Apollon Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Apollon Financial LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $22,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $311,157,662,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005,297 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $123,358,461,000 after buying an additional 5,224,229 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $72,506,336,000 after buying an additional 4,942,638 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

AAPL stock opened at $271.35 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.25 and a twelve month high of $288.62. The company has a market cap of $3.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $260.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.02.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat on top and bottom lines — Apple reported $111.2B revenue and $2.01 adjusted EPS, topping Street estimates and signaling continued demand momentum. Apple's Stock Climbs on a Rosy Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management says iPhone 17 demand is “extraordinary”; iPhone revenue rose strongly and the active installed base hit records — supports durable hardware growth. Apple Sales Top $111 Billion in Second Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Strong forward guide — Apple guided fiscal Q3 revenue up 14–17% YoY (above consensus), and raised profit guidance; that drove the most immediate upside reaction. Apple Stock Jumps on Revenue Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Capital return ramp — Apple added $100B to its buyback program and signaled shareholder-friendly distributions, which supports EPS and investor sentiment. Apple adds $100 billion to its share buyback program
• Neutral Sentiment: Services and Mac strength — Services hit an all-time quarterly high (~$30B) and Macs saw AI-driven demand, diversifying revenue beyond iPhone. Apple was surprised by AI-driven demand for Macs
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership transition spotlight — Tim Cook introduced incoming CEO John Ternus on the earnings call; investors see a smooth handoff but will watch execution under new leadership. Incoming Apple CEO John Ternus Makes Wall Street Cameo
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and supply headwinds — Management warned memory costs will increasingly impact the business and said supply constraints limited some iPhone shipments; that could pressure margins and near-term unit growth. Cook: Memory Costs Will Be Increasing Impact On Our Business
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk — Apple is in a tense dispute with India’s antitrust body over document requests; prolonged fights or fines could be a headline risk in key markets. Apple says India antitrust body overstepping judicial authority
• Negative Sentiment: Product execution concerns — reports that Vision Pro priority has been dialed back and mixed commentary on longer-term AI positioning leave some investors wanting clearer strategy/roadmap. Apple Has Given Up on the Vision Pro After M5 Refresh Flop

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Barclays lifted their price objective on Apple from $239.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $268.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $301.83.

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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