Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Raised by USS Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its Apple stake by 2.7% in the first quarter, buying 61,649 additional shares and bringing its total to 2,383,084 shares valued at about $604.6 million.
• Apple’s shares were down 0.3% in Friday trading, even as the stock remains near its 52-week high and analysts continue to rate it Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $314.85.
• Recent news flow around Apple includes a lawsuit against OpenAI over trade secrets and reports of a major Broadcom chip deal, both of which could influence sentiment and its long-term AI and supply-chain strategy.

USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,383,084 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 61,649 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.6% of USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $604,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Apple by 3.4% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 3,022,506 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $767,082,000 after purchasing an additional 98,016 shares during the last quarter. DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Apple by 120.3% in the 1st quarter. DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,687 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 6,383 shares during the period. Rexford Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.5% during the first quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. now owns 13,770 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,495,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Care LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $3,513,000. Finally, Severin Investments LLC lifted its position in Apple by 16.0% in the first quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 5,476 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

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 Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $315.32. The company had a trading volume of 34,104,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,736,044. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.26. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. 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 (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 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. 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, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.85.

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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