Apple Inc. $AAPL is Ackerman Asset Management LLC's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Ackerman Asset Management increased its Apple stake by 410.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 26,568 shares valued at about $7.2 million. Apple is now the fund’s 6th largest position.
• Apple’s recent business and analyst updates are broadly positive: its Services revenue hit a record, and multiple analysts raised or reiterated bullish ratings with a consensus “Moderate Buy” and average price target of $314.59.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, both ahead of expectations. Apple also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Ackerman Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 410.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,568 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 21,368 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 4.8% of Ackerman Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Ackerman Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $7,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Altrafin AG bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,987,000. Apriem Advisors grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Apriem Advisors now owns 236,367 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $64,259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 160,643 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $43,680,000 after purchasing an additional 5,813 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 352,895 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $95,938,000 after purchasing an additional 5,996 shares during the period. Finally, Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 31,610 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,593,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Services business posted record revenue in the fiscal second quarter, supported by ecosystem growth, AI-related updates, and its huge installed device base. Apple Continues to Expand Services Business: What's the Path Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators said Apple still has strong fundamentals, including a solid balance sheet, loyal customer base, and products investors continue to love, which supports the long-term bull case. Jim Cramer on Apple: “It Still Has Products We All Love”
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Apple, signaling expectations for steady profit growth over the next two fiscal years. Apple earnings estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC announcements showed a clearer AI roadmap, including next-generation Siri features and device software updates, but the market appears to be waiting for stronger evidence that these changes will drive meaningful revenue growth. Apple Unveils Siri AI. Here's Why It's Not Impressing Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggested Apple’s AI launch could help the stock over time, but it may take more than Siri upgrades alone to restore investor enthusiasm. Apple Just Gave Investors a Glimpse of Is AI Future at WWDC. It May Take More to Revive AAPL Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried Apple’s AI ambitions are colliding with a memory-cost crunch, creating pricing pressure that could weigh on margins. Apple Faces a No-Win Pricing Dilemma. Should Investors Be Worried?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say the market was disappointed that Apple’s Siri AI reveal did not feel like a big enough breakthrough to justify a sharper rerating of the stock. Apple's AI News Underwhelms. Siri AI Release Concerns Persist.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.59.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $291.13 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $285.64 and its 200 day moving average is $272.27. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.07 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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