Bender Robert & Associates Has $77.53 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Bender Robert & Associates trimmed its Apple stake by 2% in the fourth quarter, but still held 285,181 shares worth about $77.53 million. Apple remains its second-largest holding and makes up 16.1% of the portfolio.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 beating estimates and revenue rising 16.6% year over year to $111.18 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 from $0.26.
• Sentiment around Apple remains mixed but generally constructive: analysts mostly keep bullish ratings and higher price targets, while investors are watching risks from valuation concerns, insider stock sales, and the ongoing Epic Games legal fight.

Bender Robert & Associates decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 285,181 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,824 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 16.1% of Bender Robert & Associates' holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Bender Robert & Associates' holdings in Apple were worth $77,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Overbrook Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $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% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $363,256,000 after buying an additional 465,393 shares during the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management raised its stake in Apple by 4.3% during the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,496,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Apple by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,915,172,000 after buying an additional 214,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montis Financial LLC raised its stake in Apple by 15.8% during the third quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 77,919 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $19,841,000 after buying an additional 10,640 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $308.82 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $311.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $269.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.63. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.74.

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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