Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Acquires 113,082 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management increased its Apple stake by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 113,082 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 877,458 shares worth about $238.5 million.
• Apple’s latest business and market backdrop is mixed: the stock fell 3.6% amid concerns that its Siri AI upgrade is lagging rivals, may rely partly on Google Gemini/Nvidia infrastructure, and could be limited by older iPhones.
• Despite those concerns, Apple recently reported strong quarterly results with EPS of $2.01 on revenue of $111.18 billion, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 877,458 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 113,082 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.5% of Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Apple were worth $238,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Investors were disappointed that Siri’s AI overhaul still appears behind rivals, with launch timing stretching into later this year and some features limited to the U.S. at first. Apple shares slide after big Siri AI reveal
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warned that Apple is relying on Google Gemini/Nvidia infrastructure for parts of its advanced AI stack, raising questions about how much of the AI value capture Apple keeps in-house. Apple failed to make its AI tool to comply to EU regulations, EU Commission says
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley said the new Siri features may be held back by older iPhones, limiting the near-term upgrade cycle and the addressable installed base. Apple's AI Siri will be held back by aging devices, Morgan Stanley says

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a 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 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 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 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $290.55 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $195.07 and a one year high of $317.40. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $283.19 and its 200 day moving average is $271.79. The firm has a market cap of $4.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Maxim Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.59.

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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