BXM Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• BXM Wealth LLC sharply cut its Apple stake by 88.4% in the first quarter, selling 178,556 shares and leaving it with 23,538 shares worth about $5.97 million.
• Apple’s stock has drawn mixed but mostly positive analyst sentiment, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $314.85. Several firms recently reiterated or raised ratings, though one downgraded the stock to hold.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue expectations, and also raised its dividend to $0.27 per share. Apple additionally reported recent insider sales and continued to trade near its 52-week high.

BXM Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 88.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,538 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 178,556 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.6% of BXM Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. BXM Wealth LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $5,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 2.0% during the first quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co grew its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,902,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, KGI Securities downgraded Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.9%

AAPL stock opened at $313.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $201.50 and a one year high of $317.40. The company's 50 day moving average price is $297.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.68. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. 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%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The Broadcom agreement should improve Apple’s supply chain resiliency, reduce reliance on overseas suppliers, and strengthen its domestic manufacturing story. Apple to increase spend with Broadcom to produce billions more U.S. chips
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is also taking the deal as a sign that Apple is investing aggressively in its long-term chip and AI infrastructure, which could support future product launches and margin stability. Apple Announces Broadcom Chip Deal Worth More Than $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple also lost an EU court challenge to the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, leaving its App Store and iOS under tougher antitrust obligations in Europe, but investors appear to be focusing more on the chip deal today. EU court rejects Apple's challenge against EU rules reining in Big Tech
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, JPMorgan said recent hardware price increases are unlikely to hurt demand, reinforcing the view that Apple’s pricing power remains intact heading into earnings later this month. Apple price hikes unlikely to hurt demand, JPMorgan says as it raises PT

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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