Brighton Jones LLC Buys 31,280 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Brighton Jones LLC increased its Apple stake by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 31,280 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 565,008 shares worth about $153.6 million. Apple is now the firm’s third-largest holding, making up roughly 5.7% of its portfolio.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive on Apple, with the consensus rating at “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.74. Recent analyst moves included BNP Paribas Exane upgrading the stock to outperform and Tigress Financial raising its target to $375.
• Apple’s fundamentals and shareholder returns remain strong, as the company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, raised its dividend to $0.27 per share, and maintained a massive $4.41 trillion market cap. The article also notes continued institutional ownership support, with 67.73% of shares held by institutions and hedge funds.

Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 565,008 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 31,280 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.7% of Brighton Jones LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $153,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s post-earnings rally continues after the company posted record quarterly revenue and EPS, boosted its dividend, and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analysts say the results support further upside and have raised price targets. Apple Stock Hits All-Time High as Post-Earnings Rally Continues
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Apple to $365 and said a bull-case scenario could reach $500, citing compounding growth from Services and Apple’s ability to keep expanding free cash flow. Evercore ISI Hikes Apple Price Target to $365
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being helped by reports that iPhone demand remains strong globally, plus Soros Fund Management reportedly boosted its Apple position during the quarter. George Soros’s fund buys Berkshire Hathaway stock — now that Buffett is gone
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut iPhone 17 prices in China ahead of the 618 shopping festival, which could help support unit sales in a key market. Apple Cuts iPhone 17 Prices in China
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is considering legal action over its strained ChatGPT partnership with Apple, which adds uncertainty around Apple’s AI strategy and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. OpenAI explores legal options against Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic’s Mythos AI found vulnerabilities in Apple’s macOS/iOS are a reminder of ongoing security scrutiny, but the news is more reputational than fundamentally financial for now. Anthropic's Mythos Helped Find Bugs in Apple's Desktop Operating System

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $300.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $265.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.48. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.46 and a 52 week high of $303.20.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% 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 quarter, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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