Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Trimmed by Berger Financial Group Inc

Key Points

• Berger Financial Group trimmed its Apple stake by 2.8% in the first quarter, selling 4,422 shares and leaving it with 156,245 shares valued at about $39.7 million. Apple remains its ninth-largest holding and makes up 2.2% of the portfolio.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 beating estimates of $1.95 and revenue of $111.18 billion topping expectations. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 8.76.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish, with several analysts reiterating buy-equivalent ratings and raising price targets; the consensus target is $318.43. Apple also recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26.

Berger Financial Group Inc cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,245 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,422 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.2% of Berger Financial Group Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Berger Financial Group Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $39,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Maxim Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $318.43.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $333.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $334.99. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $303.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. Apple's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Apple Inc. NASDAQ: AAPL to Buy and raised its price target to $366 from $260, saying the company is at an operational turning point with AI features and hardware momentum supporting growth. HSBC upgrades Apple to Buy, sees "strong cycle ahead"
• Positive Sentiment: China approved Apple Intelligence for iPhones, and Apple will integrate Alibaba’s Qwen AI model in its China rollout, a key step that could expand Apple’s AI adoption in one of its most important markets. Alibaba and Baidu shares jump in Hong Kong on Apple AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple briefly overtook Nvidia in market value, reinforcing the view that investors are rotating toward Apple’s consumer execution and away from some AI-heavy names. Apple closes in on Nvidia in race for world's most valuable company
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentaries highlighted Apple’s cash generation, shareholder returns, and robotics/innovation efforts, supporting the bullish “cash flow machine” and diversification narrative. Apple’s Core Business Cash Flow Machine Will Support Innovation and Diversification

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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