Aua Capital Management LLC Purchases 18,228 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Aua Capital Management LLC boosted its Apple stake by 98.6%, adding 18,228 shares to hold 36,713 shares worth $9.98 million, making Apple about 5.0% of the firm's assets and its third-largest position.
• Apple beat Q2 expectations (EPS $2.01 vs. $1.95; revenue $111.18B) and management announced a $100 billion share buyback and a dividend raise to $0.27, citing strong iPhone/Mac demand and outsized China sales.
• Near-term risks include a worsening global memory-chip shortage and notable insider selling (96,485 shares in the past 90 days, ~$24.6M), and Wall Street remains split on whether the recent beat is sustainable despite bullish analyst moves.

Aua Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 98.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,713 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 18,228 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.0% of Aua Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Aua Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $9,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 1st 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 during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th 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 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: Q2 results beat and June-quarter guidance well above Street expectations, giving investors confidence in near-term sales momentum and margins. Apple stages sharpest rally in 9 months as execs cite iPhone, Mac demand in boosting guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Management expanded capital returns — a large share buyback ($100B) plus a dividend raise — which supports EPS and buyback-driven upside. Apple (AAPL) Stock: Q2 Earnings Beat ... and $100B Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger-than-expected demand in Greater China and for the iPhone 17 and Mac lineup (including Mac Mini demand for AI work) is driving top-line upside and a re-rating by some analysts. Apple's China sales jumped 28%: now analysts are rethinking AAPL
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised price targets and options activity surged, signaling bullish positioning and expectations for further upside. Analyst moves & options flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple signaled it is retiring its net-cash-neutral target — investors interpret this as freeing cash for a potential large AI acquisition, but timing and impact remain speculative. Apple just gave a subtle clue that a splashy AI acquisition may be in the cards
• Neutral Sentiment: Media/services expansion — Apple aims to grow its sports/TV footprint (Formula One content and TV deals), which supports longer-term services revenue diversification but is incremental near term. Apple's Cue expects F1 movie sequel...
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned that the global memory-chip shortage is worsening — that creates a real near-term cost/margin headwind and could force pricing or longer-term supplier commitments. Apple Warns the Memory Shortage Is Getting Worse
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts remain cautious — Wall Street is split on whether the beat is sustainable versus one-time effects (tariff refunds, inventory/timing), leaving valuation and durability questions. Wall Street Splits on Apple After Q2 Beat

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents 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 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $280.19 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 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 52-week low of $193.25 and a 52-week high of $288.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $260.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $304.31.

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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