Brickley Wealth Management Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Brickley Wealth Management increased its Apple stake by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,634 more shares and bringing its total to 388,140 shares worth about $105.5 million. Apple is now its second-largest holding, making up 17.8% of the portfolio.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 versus $1.95 expected and revenue of $111.18 billion versus $109.46 billion forecast. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and analysts expect full-year EPS of 8.74.
• The company also raised its dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, while shares recently traded near their 52-week high at $308.82. At the same time, several Apple executives sold stock under pre-arranged trading plans, and analysts remain broadly constructive with a Moderate Buy consensus.

Brickley Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 388,140 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 12,634 shares during the period. Apple comprises 17.8% of Brickley Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Brickley Wealth Management's holdings in Apple were worth $105,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $308.82 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $269.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.62. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $193.46 and a one year high of $311.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a PEG ratio of 2.69 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 (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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.27 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Apple News Summary

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

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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