Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Motiv8 Investments LLC

Key Points

• Motiv8 Investments LLC cut its Apple stake by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,778 shares and leaving it with 9,269 shares valued at about $2.52 million.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $2.01 versus $1.95 expected and revenue of $111.18 billion versus $109.46 billion estimated, while revenue rose 16.6% year over year.
• Apple also raised its dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, and Wall Street sentiment remains mostly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $314.59.

Motiv8 Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,269 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,778 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.4% of Motiv8 Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Motiv8 Investments LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Orion Investment Co increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.8%

Apple stock opened at $296.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $195.07 and a 12 month high of $317.40. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $286.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $272.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 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 paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.59.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said Apple’s WWDC AI rollout could be the “first step” toward adding as much as $100 to the stock, as investors focus on the company’s AI execution and the potential for a stronger Siri/Apple Intelligence roadmap. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports on iOS 27 and Apple Intelligence suggest Apple is making progress on features that could improve older iPhones, expand software value, and strengthen the case for users to upgrade into the next product cycle. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains constructive, with several firms reiterating buy/overweight views and price targets clustered well above current levels, reinforcing a bullish long-term sentiment on AAPL. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlight Apple’s strong recent operating performance, including record iPhone demand and services revenue, but these are largely a rehash of prior earnings strength rather than a fresh catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A Yahoo Finance report says rising memory chip costs could pressure Apple’s hardware margins as AI features require more device memory, creating a potential headwind for profitability over the next few quarters. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Broader sentiment is also being dampened by articles noting that the Magnificent Seven, including Apple, have been weak in June and have lagged the broader market at times, which can weigh on near-term momentum. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company'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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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