Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Ninety One UK Ltd

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd increased its Apple stake by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 145,218 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 2,994,661 shares worth about $814.1 million.
• Apple’s latest earnings topped Wall Street expectations, with EPS of $2.01 versus the $1.95 estimate and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% from a year earlier.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: Apple currently has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $305.74, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,994,661 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 145,218 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.7% of Ninety One UK Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $814,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $305.74.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $294.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $263.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.73. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $295.27.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming WWDC is seen as a major catalyst that could reset investor expectations around its AI roadmap and support another leg higher if management delivers a stronger vision for Siri, iOS, and future devices. The Event That Could Redefine Apple’s Summer Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is also being viewed more favorably after reports highlighted strong supply-chain execution, continued AI-services potential, and a growing case for the stock as a momentum name. Apple (AAPL) Gains Wall Street Confidence on Supply Chain Strength and AI Services Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Google are rolling out end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging between iPhone and Android users, which should improve the messaging experience and support the ecosystem value proposition. Apple And Google Finally Close SMS Security Gap...
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Apple is planning customizable camera controls and Siri design changes in iOS 27, which could help future product appeal but are still early-stage software rumors. Apple Plans Customizable Camera for Pros, Siri Design Changes in iOS 27
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s director and an insider both sold shares recently, which can create some caution, but the sales appear modest relative to Apple’s overall size and recent record earnings. Apple Board Veteran Sells $71 Million in Stock After Record Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: A new federal appeals-court decision temporarily keeping Trump’s 10% global tariffs in place could preserve cost pressure on imported consumer electronics, including Apple products. Appeals Court Temporarily Reinstates Trump’s 10% Global Tariffs
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares, a small signal that may slightly dampen sentiment, though it is not large enough on its own to change the broader bullish narrative. SEC insider filing

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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