Caprock Group LLC Buys 49,085 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Caprock Group LLC increased its Apple stake by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 49,085 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 589,235 shares valued at about $160.2 million. Apple is now Caprock’s third-largest position and makes up 3.4% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 versus the $1.95 estimate and revenue of $111.18 billion versus expectations of $109.46 billion. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, underscoring continued momentum in the business.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on AAPL, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.74. At the same time, Apple recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, though the yield remains modest at 0.4%.

Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 589,235 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 49,085 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.4% of Caprock Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Caprock Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $160,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $298.97 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $266.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $303.20. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. 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%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $330.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.74.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is rolling out new Apple Intelligence features, including AI-powered accessibility tools and planned iOS 27 upgrades such as smarter writing help, Shortcuts improvements, and wallpaper features, reinforcing the view that AI can drive the next phase of growth. Apple announces Apple Intelligence powered accessibility feature updates
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple recent articles highlight Apple’s Services business as a major profit engine, suggesting investors are starting to value Apple less as just an iPhone maker and more as a higher-margin platform company. AAPL: Forget the iPhone—Services Will Drive the Next Phase of Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Apple remains near record levels, with commentary pointing to strong iPhone and Services performance and analyst targets well above current trading ranges, which supports the bullish valuation narrative. Apple Trades Close to 52-Week High: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional investors continue to add Apple exposure, including a new near-$1 billion stake from Viking Global, signaling ongoing big-money confidence in AAPL. Viking Global Opens Fresh Apple Stake Worth Nearly $1 Billion As Big Tech Trade Roars Back
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s return of Fortnite to the App Store removes one high-profile friction point, but it also keeps attention on Apple’s App Store control and ongoing platform disputes. Fortnite Returns to the App Store Amid Clashes With Apple
• Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ordered Apple to fully cooperate in an App Store antitrust probe, adding to regulatory risk around Apple’s platform practices and potential penalties. Indian court tells Apple to 'cooperate' in antitrust case
• Negative Sentiment: Samsung and Google unveiled AI smart glasses to challenge Meta and Apple, underscoring intensifying competition in next-generation consumer AI hardware. Samsung and Google Announce AI Smart Glasses to Challenge Meta and Apple
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Apple’s global Formula 1 streaming ambitions may take time to expand beyond the U.S. because of differing international media-rights cycles, limiting the near-term boost from that deal. After U.S. deal, Apple's global F1 push may take time

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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