Artemis Investment Management LLP Purchases 25,376 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its Apple stake by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 25,376 additional shares to bring its total holdings to 490,096 shares worth about $133.2 million.
• Apple continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with investors owning 67.73% of the company’s shares; several firms recently increased positions, including Overbrook Management and KBC Group NV.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, while also raising its dividend slightly to $0.27 per share quarterly. Apple stock was trading near its 52-week high, and analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus Moderate Buy rating.

Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 490,096 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 25,376 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.6% of Artemis Investment Management LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Apple were worth $133,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Overbrook Management Corp raised its stake in Apple by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $28,449,000 after acquiring an additional 38,174 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Apple by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $363,256,000 after acquiring an additional 465,393 shares during the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management raised its stake in Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $1,178,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Apple by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,915,172,000 after acquiring an additional 214,215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $312.06 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.73, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.07 and a fifty-two week high of $315.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming WWDC is expected to showcase a major Siri AI overhaul and broader iOS AI upgrades, reinforcing expectations for a stronger AI product cycle. Apple to Unveil Siri’s AI Overhaul at June Conference
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are increasingly bullish that Apple’s ecosystem could benefit from agentic AI, with Bank of America reportedly lifting its price target and pointing to user identity, payments, and app access as key advantages. Bank of America Raises Its Apple Stock Price Target to $380. Agentic AI Could Be the Upside Driver.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces highlight Apple as a momentum stock and suggest Apple Intelligence could drive iPhone and Mac upgrades, which supports the case for further revenue growth. Apple Intelligence Drives Up iPhone & Mac Sales: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Leak-driven coverage around the iPhone 18 Pro’s rumored colors and camera changes is generating buzz, but it is too early to be a major fundamental stock driver. iPhone 18 Pro dummy units reveal four color options [Gallery] - 9to5Mac
• Negative Sentiment: Some technical commentary warns Apple is approaching long-term resistance and may need a consolidation period after a strong run, which could limit near-term upside. Apple (AAPL) Faces $355 Barrier at Top of Its Multi-Year Uptrend Structure

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.31.

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.

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