Apple Inc. $AAPL is Opal Wealth Advisors LLC's 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Opal Wealth Advisors trimmed its Apple stake by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, but Apple remains its 5th largest position and makes up about 3.1% of its holdings.
• Apple reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $2.01 versus estimates of $1.95 and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $305.74.

Opal Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,289 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,079 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.1% of Opal Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $11,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $112,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $293.25 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $261.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.04. 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 one year low of $193.46 and a one year high of $294.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.06.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is 12.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $296.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.74.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.