Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Key Points

• Aviance Capital Partners increased its Apple stake by 0.9% in the first quarter to 260,577 shares valued at approximately $66.1 million, making Apple its largest holding at 7.7% of the portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Apple carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $331.60, despite some hold and underweight ratings.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $2.02 per share and revenue of $109.42 billion, exceeding estimates, while revenue grew 16.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,577 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,389 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 7.7% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Aviance Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $66,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 14.1% during the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 108.3% in the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,880,000 after purchasing an additional 18,188 shares in the last quarter. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,482,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,915,172,000 after purchasing an additional 214,215 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. KGI Securities downgraded Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $331.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: India proposed extending tax exemptions through 2041 for foreign companies supplying equipment to contract manufacturers. The policy could lower Apple’s manufacturing costs and support its strategy of shifting more iPhone production to India. India proposes extending tax breaks for contract manufacturing in a boost for Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to generate substantial free cash flow, with analysts expecting strong cash generation to continue alongside higher revenue forecasts. This supports shareholder returns and provides financial flexibility, although the stock’s valuation limits the upside case. Apple Delivers Strong Free Cash Flow, But What is the Best AAPL Play?
• Positive Sentiment: A reported deal with PlasmaSolve could help Apple develop thinner, stronger device finishes by using software simulations before factory testing, potentially improving manufacturing yields and reducing testing costs. Apple Stock Drops as PlasmaSolve Deal Targets Thinner and Stronger Devices

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.8%

AAPL opened at $303.42 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $201.68 and a one year high of $344.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. The business's 50 day moving average price is $309.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.8 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.39%.

Apple Company 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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