Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by DeLarme Wealth Management Inc.

Key Points

• DeLarme Wealth Management boosted its Apple stake by 120.3% in the first quarter, buying 6,383 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 11,687 shares worth about $2.97 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions in Apple, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 67.73% of the stock.
• Analysts remain largely constructive on Apple, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.85, while the company also recently posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its dividend.

DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 120.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,687 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 6,383 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.9% of DeLarme Wealth Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. DeLarme Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $2,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Rexford Capital Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. now owns 13,770 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,495,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Care LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $3,513,000. Severin Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 16.0% in the first quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 5,476 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares during the period. Bayban increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14.9% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 19,993 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,074,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the first quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 15,732 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,993,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new lawsuit against OpenAI could help protect its hardware roadmap and reinforce its control over proprietary technology, which may support its long-term competitive position. Reuters: Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines around Apple’s expanded multi-year chip deal with Broadcom continue to boost sentiment, since the agreement strengthens Apple’s supply chain, supports U.S. manufacturing, and deepens its custom silicon strategy. Yahoo Finance: Apple Secures Largest Ever US Chip Deal With Broadcom For $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also named among approved U.S. companies eligible for license-free exports under eased UAE trade rules, which is supportive for international operations but not clearly a near-term stock catalyst. Quiver Quant: U.S. eases export controls on UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, suggesting today’s move is being driven more by news flow than by a shift in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit also highlights that Apple’s relationship with a major AI player has soured, adding uncertainty around future AI partnerships and potentially distracting management with litigation. Financial Times: Apple sues OpenAI, alleging it stole top-secret information

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $315.32. 34,104,441 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,736,044. 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 fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is 13.06%.

About Apple

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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