Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Increased by Generate Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• Generate Investment Management Ltd increased its Apple stake by 40% in the first quarter, buying 116,909 additional shares and bringing its total to 409,043 shares valued at about $103.8 million.
• Several major institutional investors also added to Apple, with hedge funds and institutions owning 67.73% of the company’s stock, underscoring continued strong ownership interest.
• Apple’s recent headlines were mixed: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy with a $360 target, but the company also raised prices on some Mac and iPad models as chip costs rose, sparking concerns about margin pressure and demand.

Generate Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 40.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 409,043 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 116,909 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.1% of Generate Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Generate Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $103,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $284.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.26 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $292.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.20. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Maxim Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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