Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Boosted by Davidson Investment Advisors

Key Points

• Davidson Investment Advisors slightly increased its Apple stake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 365,179 shares worth about $99.3 million. Apple remains a major holding for the firm, representing 4.1% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 beating estimates and revenue of $111.18 billion topping expectations. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 8.74.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $308.74.

Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 365,179 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,037 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.1% of Davidson Investment Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings in Apple were worth $99,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth about $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company'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 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. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This represents 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. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.74.

Apple Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $300.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.06. The company's 50 day moving average is $265.37 and its 200 day moving average is $267.48. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $303.20. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS 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 dividend of $0.27 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s post-earnings rally continues after the company posted record quarterly revenue and EPS, boosted its dividend, and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analysts say the results support further upside and have raised price targets. Apple Stock Hits All-Time High as Post-Earnings Rally Continues
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Apple to $365 and said a bull-case scenario could reach $500, citing compounding growth from Services and Apple’s ability to keep expanding free cash flow. Evercore ISI Hikes Apple Price Target to $365
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being helped by reports that iPhone demand remains strong globally, plus Soros Fund Management reportedly boosted its Apple position during the quarter. George Soros’s fund buys Berkshire Hathaway stock — now that Buffett is gone
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut iPhone 17 prices in China ahead of the 618 shopping festival, which could help support unit sales in a key market. Apple Cuts iPhone 17 Prices in China
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is considering legal action over its strained ChatGPT partnership with Apple, which adds uncertainty around Apple’s AI strategy and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. OpenAI explores legal options against Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic’s Mythos AI found vulnerabilities in Apple’s macOS/iOS are a reminder of ongoing security scrutiny, but the news is more reputational than fundamentally financial for now. Anthropic's Mythos Helped Find Bugs in Apple's Desktop Operating System

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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