Ballast Rock Private Wealth LLC Takes $7.97 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Ballast Rock Private Wealth LLC opened a new Apple position in the fourth quarter, buying 29,299 shares worth about $7.97 million. Apple is now its largest holding, making up roughly 5% of the portfolio.
• Apple’s recent earnings were strong, with $2.01 EPS and $111.18 billion in revenue, both ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and analysts now expect $8.74 EPS for the full year.
• The stock remains well supported by Wall Street and institutions: hedge funds own 67.73% of shares, and analysts currently rate Apple Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $312.82. Apple also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Ballast Rock Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 29,299 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $7,965,000. Apple makes up about 5.0% of Ballast Rock Private Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 grew its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during 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 position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $310.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's fifty day moving average is $279.10 and its 200 day moving average is $270.84. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $195.07 and a 52 week high of $316.94. 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 posted 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. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts reiterated bullish views on Apple ahead of WWDC, including Goldman Sachs keeping a Buy rating with a $340 target and Evercore ISI lifting its target to $365, citing Apple’s AI roadmap, ecosystem strength, and services growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor expectations remain high that Apple will unveil major AI updates at WWDC, especially a rebuilt Siri and deeper Apple Intelligence features, which could extend the stock’s recent rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports suggest Apple may expand its ecosystem with a native bill-splitting/payment feature in iOS, which could deepen user engagement and strengthen its services revenue stream. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around Apple’s stock has been upbeat, with articles highlighting outperformance versus the S&P 500 and strong demand for iPhones and Macs ahead of the conference. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS said not to expect fireworks from WWDC and kept a Neutral rating, suggesting the event may not deliver a near-term stock catalyst if announcements disappoint. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent gains and all-time high have also prompted valuation concerns, with some analysts and commentators warning the shares may already price in a lot of good news. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Apple agreed to submit India business financials in an antitrust case, keeping regulatory risk in focus and raising the possibility of penalties. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive headlines from Nvidia, Walmart, and others show mounting pressure on parts of Apple’s ecosystem, including PCs and payments, which could weigh on sentiment if rivals gain traction. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. 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. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $312.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple 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 owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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