Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by Bell Investment Advisors Inc

Key Points

• Bell Investment Advisors increased its Apple stake by 50.8% in the first quarter, buying 12,548 more shares and bringing its total to 37,248 shares worth about $9.45 million.
• Apple insiders sold stock recently, including CEO Tim Cook and SVP Deirdre O’Brien; over the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,875 shares valued at nearly $25 million.
• Wall Street remains constructive on Apple overall, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $314.85, even as some analysts note concerns about pricing pressure, margin defense, and talent losses.

Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 50.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,248 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 12,548 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.5% of Bell Investment Advisors Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Bell Investment Advisors Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $9,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% during 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 during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Orion Investment Co increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. KGI Securities cut shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.85.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Apple Trading Up 3.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $284.29 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.26 and a 1 year high of $317.40. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $292.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09.

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. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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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