Childress Capital Advisors LLC Has $18.72 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Childress Capital Advisors increased its Apple stake by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 68,845 shares valued at about $18.72 million. Apple now represents roughly 3% of the firm’s portfolio and is its sixth-largest holding.
• Apple’s recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, both above consensus estimates. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on AAPL, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $305.74. Recent reports also highlighted bullish catalysts such as AI-driven growth expectations and a possible chip-making deal with Intel, though regulatory and legal risks remain.

Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,845 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 10,726 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.0% of Childress Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Childress Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $18,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during 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 during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.74.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Apple Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of AAPL opened at $293.25 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $294.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845. Corporate 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.