Blankinship & Foster LLC Raises Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Blankinship & Foster LLC boosted its Apple stake by 57.2% in the first quarter, buying 10,652 more shares and bringing its total to 29,261 shares worth about $7.4 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Apple, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $314.85; several firms recently reaffirmed bullish views, including TD Cowen raising its target to $350.
• Apple’s latest results showed earnings and revenue beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, while the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Blankinship & Foster LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 57.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,261 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 10,652 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.6% of Blankinship & Foster LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Blankinship & Foster LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $7,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first 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 during the period. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Apple Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $284.29 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.17. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.26 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The company has a market cap of $4.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple 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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