Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Prosperity Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Prosperity Financial Group increased its Apple stake by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, adding 6,638 shares to reach 62,625 shares valued at about $17.0 million. Apple is now its largest holding, representing roughly 6.1% of the portfolio.
• Apple continues to draw mixed Wall Street attention, with analysts maintaining a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $305.74. Recent commentary includes bullish calls tied to AI potential and new chip-related developments, though some analysts remain neutral.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share. Apple also remains near its 52-week high, with a market capitalization of about $4.31 trillion.

Prosperity Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,625 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 6,638 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 6.1% of Prosperity Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Prosperity Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $17,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.4% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 15.7% during the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $330.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.74.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $293.25 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $261.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.04. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $294.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

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 (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 firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 12.58%.

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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