Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Measured Risk Portfolios Inc.

Key Points

• Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. increased its Apple stake by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,114 additional shares. The firm now holds 14,507 shares valued at about $3.94 million, making Apple its fourth-largest position.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 beating expectations and revenue of $111.18 billion topping estimates. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and analysts now expect 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Apple raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26. That puts the annualized dividend at $1.08 per share, for a yield of about 0.4%.

Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,507 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,114 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.9% of Measured Risk Portfolios Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $3,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $300.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.46 and a 52 week high of $303.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $265.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $330.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $296.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.74.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s post-earnings rally continues after the company posted record quarterly revenue and EPS, boosted its dividend, and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analysts say the results support further upside and have raised price targets. Apple Stock Hits All-Time High as Post-Earnings Rally Continues
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Apple to $365 and said a bull-case scenario could reach $500, citing compounding growth from Services and Apple’s ability to keep expanding free cash flow. Evercore ISI Hikes Apple Price Target to $365
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being helped by reports that iPhone demand remains strong globally, plus Soros Fund Management reportedly boosted its Apple position during the quarter. George Soros’s fund buys Berkshire Hathaway stock — now that Buffett is gone
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut iPhone 17 prices in China ahead of the 618 shopping festival, which could help support unit sales in a key market. Apple Cuts iPhone 17 Prices in China
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is considering legal action over its strained ChatGPT partnership with Apple, which adds uncertainty around Apple’s AI strategy and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. OpenAI explores legal options against Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic’s Mythos AI found vulnerabilities in Apple’s macOS/iOS are a reminder of ongoing security scrutiny, but the news is more reputational than fundamentally financial for now. Anthropic's Mythos Helped Find Bugs in Apple's Desktop Operating System

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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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