Argo Wealth Advisory LLC Makes New $1.42 Million Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Argo Wealth Advisory LLC opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 5,238 shares worth about $1.42 million.
• Apple recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 versus estimates of $1.95 and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, while analysts remain broadly constructive with an average rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $305.74.

Argo Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,238 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,424,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $311,157,662,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005,297 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $123,358,461,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224,229 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $72,506,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942,638 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $293.25 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $294.76. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $261.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change 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 is Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.58%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $253.00 price target (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $335.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company'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 owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Apple

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.