Christine Messmer PC Takes Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Christine Messmer PC disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in Apple, buying 28,619 shares worth about $7.78 million. Apple now makes up 5.1% of the firm’s holdings and is its 5th-largest position.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 versus $1.95 expected and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to earn 8.74 EPS for the current year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, while institutional ownership remains high at 67.73%. Meanwhile, Apple insiders sold shares over the past 90 days, including CFO Kevan Parekh and insider Ben Borders.

Christine Messmer PC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 28,619 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $7,780,000. Apple comprises 5.1% of Christine Messmer PC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC raised its position 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $315.20 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.07 and a 1 year high of $315.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $276.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $270.28. The company has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.09. 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 data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of WWDC, with Apple expected to unveil key AI features that could improve Siri and strengthen its software ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s MacBook Neo is reportedly gaining traction with new buyers, suggesting the company is still expanding its hardware appeal beyond its core customer base. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been lifting targets on AAPL ahead of WWDC, reflecting confidence that Apple’s AI strategy and software roadmap could reaccelerate growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: New Apple Wallet bill-splitting and payment-request features may help deepen engagement, but the immediate stock impact is less clear because the move is incremental rather than transformative. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is being discussed as a potentially overvalued stock after its recent rally, which could limit upside if WWDC disappoints expectations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Dell and Nvidia have intensified competition in PCs and laptops, pressuring Apple’s positioning in hardware categories like the MacBook Neo. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $253.00 target price (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.31.

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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