Apple Inc. $AAPL is Waycross Partners LLC's 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Waycross Partners LLC increased its Apple stake by 3.2% to 259,775 shares, making AAPL its 4th-largest holding at about 5.8% of the fund and valued at roughly $70.62 million at quarter-end.
• Apple beat expectations with quarterly EPS of $2.84 (vs. $2.67 est.) and revenue of $143.76 billion, up 15.7% year-over-year, while the company carries a market cap of about $3.8 trillion and analysts forecast ~7.28 EPS for the year.
• CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares for about $16.5 million (and SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 30,002 shares) under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, a disclosure that may spur short-term headline risk.

Waycross Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 259,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 8,055 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.8% of Waycross Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Waycross Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $70,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 6.4% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 15.7% during the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $258.86 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $288.62. The company's 50 day moving average is $260.74 and its 200 day moving average is $263.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 13.15%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This 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. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MacBook Neo demand and Bank of America bullish thesis — BofA keeps a Buy rating and $320 price target, citing the MacBook Neo’s instant sellouts as a catalyst to expand Apple’s addressable PC market and upside to revenue. Apple MacBook Neo could expand market reach, says Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Big-investor backing and quality-story momentum — Coverage notes renewed institutional confidence (including mentions of Buffett and Ken Griffin), reinforcing Apple’s “quality tech” status and supporting investor demand in choppy markets. Here’s Why Warren Buffett and Ken Griffin Love Apple (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Tim Cook stock sale disclosed — Tim Cook sold roughly $16.5M of Apple shares. The filing increases headline risk and can spur short-term noise, but context (routine diversification vs. signal of concern) will shape investor reaction. Apple (AAPL) Stock Holds Strong Despite CEO’s $16.5M Share Sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal fight with Epic escalates — Apple has filed to take parts of the Epic Games App Store dispute back to the U.S. Supreme Court; continued litigation raises liability and operating-risk headlines but no immediate earnings impact. Apple plans Supreme Court appeal in Epic Games App Store battle — again
• Neutral Sentiment: App-store compliance in China — Apple removed a high-profile app (Bitchat) from the China App Store at Beijing’s request, underscoring regulatory sensitivity in a key market; this is a reputational/regulatory access risk but not an immediate revenue hit. Apple Removes Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat From China App Store
• Negative Sentiment: Foldable iPhone engineering snags — Nikkei/Reuters report testing problems that could push mass-production and shipments back by months, creating the risk of missed launch/timing-driven revenue and margin upside tied to a new product category. Apple's foldable iPhone encounters engineering snags, faces potential shipment delays, Nikkei Asia reports
• Negative Sentiment: China AI patent/regulatory setbacks — Apple temporarily pulled Apple Intelligence in China amid regulator pushback, and a China court ruling upholding key AI patents tied to a small rival raises potential infringement exposure and uncertainty for Apple’s AI rollout in its second-largest market. These items increase regulatory and legal execution risk for AI features and services in China. Apple China AI Setback Puts Regulatory Risk In Investor Focus Xiao-I (AIXI) jumps 166.9% as investors react to China top-court ruling upholding key AI patents in Apple dispute

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $297.58.

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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