Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Milestone Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Milestone Asset Management boosted its Apple stake by 78.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 34,584 additional shares and bringing its total to 78,787 shares worth about $21.4 million.
• Apple continues to attract broad institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 67.73% of the company’s shares overall.
• Wall Street remains generally constructive on Apple, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $308.74, even as some analysts warn the stock may be stretched on valuation.

Milestone Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 78.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,787 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 34,584 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.0% of Milestone Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Milestone Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $21,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,934,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store fraud prevention system blocked $2.2 billion in fraudulent transactions last year, underscoring the strength and scale of its Services ecosystem. Apple uses AI and human reviews to prevent $2.2B in potential App Store fraud
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to Services as a major growth driver for Apple, which could support earnings even as iPhone growth matures. AAPL: Forget the iPhone—Services Will Drive the Next Phase of Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly offering China price cuts for the 618 holiday, a move that could help its sales and market-share push in a competitive market. Apple cutting prices in China for 618 holiday likely to aid market share push: Wedbush
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple received some favorable media attention after Google’s I/O event, with commentary suggesting Google’s AI showcase may have strengthened expectations that Apple will have room to compete aggressively at WWDC. Google I/O 2026 had nothing to say and said it badly ahead of Apple's WWDC
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple is reorganizing its hardware team and pushing more AI-powered features suggest a product-development refresh, but the impact on near-term earnings is unclear. Apple reportedly plans hardware team shake up to ramp up future devices
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc turned cautious on Apple, warning that valuation looks stretched and suggesting the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc Turns Cautious on Apple Stock as Valuation Concerns Grow. It’s Due for Profit-Taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple remains exposed to regulatory and strategic risks, including an Indian court order to cooperate in an App Store antitrust probe and ongoing concerns about AI feature delays. Apple ordered by Indian court to 'fully cooperate' in iPhone App Store antitrust probe

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple 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 approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% 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 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

Apple Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $302.25 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $193.46 and a one year high of $303.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $267.80 and a 200-day moving average of $268.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $4.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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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