Briggs Wealth Management Inc Takes $1.21 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Briggs Wealth Management initiated a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 4,447 shares valued at about $1.21 million. Apple now represents roughly 1.3% of the firm’s portfolio and ranks as its 12th-largest holding.
• Apple continues to draw heavy institutional interest, with major holders like Vanguard, Norges Bank, and Nuveen also increasing or establishing stakes. Overall, about 67.73% of Apple’s stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Recent news flow around Apple is largely positive, including a Buy rating reaffirmation from Bank of America with a $380 price target and reports that Apple may work with Intel on U.S. chip production. However, the company also faces some risks from potential price increases and a new regulatory probe in Italy.

Briggs Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,447 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,209,000. Apple comprises about 1.3% of Briggs Wealth Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 890.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 20,464.8% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating on Apple and kept a $380 price target, citing Apple’s pricing power, strong supply-chain position, and ability to manage rising memory costs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: President Trump said Apple will work with Intel to design and build chips in the U.S., raising hopes for a domestic supply-chain boost and stronger strategic positioning for Apple. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said Apple is relatively well positioned to weather the AI-driven memory shortage because of its scale, inventory, and supplier relationships, which may help protect hardware margins. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple reportedly plans to raise prices across its product lineup, which could support margins but may also weigh on consumer demand if the increases are too large. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also reportedly developing new AI wearables and a foldable iPhone for 2027, which supports the long-term product pipeline but is unlikely to affect near-term earnings. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Italy opened a Digital Markets Act probe into Apple’s cloud interoperability practices, adding another regulatory risk for the company in Europe. Article Title

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $288.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.80.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.59.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other 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 transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 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 value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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