Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by Warner Group LLC

Key Points

• Warner Group LLC boosted its Apple stake by 80.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 11,152 more shares and bringing its total holding to 24,986 shares worth about $6.79 million.
• Apple continues to attract broad institutional support, with 67.73% of shares owned by hedge funds and other institutions; several other firms also recently increased their positions.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Apple, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $312.82, while recent earnings beat expectations and the company raised its quarterly dividend.

Warner Group LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 80.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,986 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 11,152 shares during the period. Apple makes up 4.2% of Warner Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Warner Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $6,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Overbrook Management Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,449,000 after buying an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management boosted its stake in Apple by 4.3% in the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,496,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,178,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Apple by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,915,172,000 after buying an additional 214,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montis Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 15.8% during the third quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 77,919 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $19,841,000 after purchasing an additional 10,640 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price target on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $312.82.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $307.34 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.07 and a 1 year high of $316.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $281.39 and a 200-day moving average of $271.37.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. 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 is presently 13.06%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC keynote is expected to highlight a revamped Siri, Apple Intelligence updates, and a broader AI strategy, which could act as a near-term catalyst if the company shows meaningful progress. Will WWDC Drive Apple Stock (AAPL) Higher? Here’s What Analysts Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with Citi reiterating a Buy and Wedbush reaffirming Outperform with a $400 target, citing Apple’s AI inflection point and resilient iPhone fundamentals. Asiya Merchant Reiterates Buy on Apple, Citing AI Strategy Inflection and Resilient iPhone Fundamentals
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store update showed $1.4 trillion in sales and billings last year, reinforcing the scale of its Services ecosystem even as most transactions did not carry a commission. Apple touts $1.4 trillion in App Store billings and sales, 90% without a commission
• Positive Sentiment: Foxconn raised its second-quarter outlook, a constructive signal for Apple’s supply chain and iPhone demand, since Foxconn is Apple’s top iPhone assembler. Taiwan's Foxconn raises guidance for second-quarter outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple may rely on Google cloud infrastructure and Nvidia chips to power a redesigned Siri suggest the company is prioritizing speed to market, but they also underscore that Apple is leaning on outside partners for its AI push. Apple Taps Google to Prep Siri For September Revamp
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns that Apple still faces a high bar to justify its valuation, and UBS noted decelerating App Store growth could pressure the Services growth story if AI execution disappoints. Investors Should Worry About Apple’s (AAPL) Decelerating App Store Growth, Says UBS

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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