Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Earned Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 4.7% in Q4 to 108,789 shares (about $29.58M), making the stock 3.2% of the fund and its 10th-largest holding.
• Insider sales: SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 30,002 shares (~$7.66M) and CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares (~$16.51M) on April 2, both executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Market/analyst outlook: The stock carries a "Moderate Buy" consensus target of $301.37 (Bank of America raised its target to $325 with a Buy), while unusual call buying (~1.03M contracts) and product catalysts (e.g., a potential foldable iPhone) contribute to short-term bullish sentiment as shares traded near $266.43 (market cap ≈ $3.91T).

Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,789 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 4,872 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.2% of Earned Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $29,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $311,157,662,000 after buying an additional 5,005,297 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Apple by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $123,358,461,000 after buying an additional 5,224,229 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $72,506,336,000 after buying an additional 4,942,638 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target and reiterated a bullish outlook ahead of Q2, citing strong iPhone and Services momentum — a clear analyst catalyst supporting upside expectations. Apple price target raised ahead of earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call buying: traders purchased ~1.03M Apple calls (≈24% above typical daily call volume), signaling short‑term bullish positioning that can amplify intraday gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Product catalysts — reports on Apple’s imminent foldable iPhone and recent product announcements keep a tangible growth story intact (new hardware can lift ASPs and Services engagement). Apple's Foldable iPhone Foray
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon’s acquisition of Globalstar reshapes Apple’s satellite dependence — it creates near‑term uncertainty (a critical vendor now controlled by a competitor) but also a potential catalyst if Apple elects to accelerate its own satellite strategy or strike new partnerships. Apple Sends an SOS
• Neutral Sentiment: AI narrative and positioning: multiple pieces flag rising investor focus on Apple’s AI approach versus peers — positive long‑term but execution and timing remain uncertain, so this is more of a watch‑item than an immediate earnings lever. Apple: More Attention On AI Strategy
• Negative Sentiment: App‑store security incident: a fake Ledger app that stole ~$9.5M highlighted review gaps and raises regulatory/PR risk around App Store oversight (Apple removed the app, but incidents like this can drive scrutiny). Apple removes fake Ledger app
• Negative Sentiment: Store closures including a unionized location drew criticism and union‑busting claims — reputational and workforce risks are remote to revenue but could attract regulatory or headline pressure. Apple closing 3 stores

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president 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 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, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Moffett Nathanson upped their target price on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Phillip Securities raised shares of Apple from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $301.37.

Apple Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $266.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $189.81 and a twelve month high of $288.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $263.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The company's revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.15%.

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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