Clear Retirement Advice LLC Invests $870,000 in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Clear Retirement Advice LLC opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 3,147 shares valued at about $870,000. Apple now represents roughly 0.7% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 22nd-largest holding.
• Apple continues to draw strong interest from institutions, with 67.73% of shares owned by institutional investors. Several other firms also recently added to or initiated positions in the stock.
• The article highlights supportive fundamentals for Apple, including a recent earnings beat, a small dividend increase, and analyst optimism tied to pricing power, supply-chain strength, and an AI-focused product pipeline.

Clear Retirement Advice LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,147 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $870,000. Apple makes up approximately 0.7% of Clear Retirement Advice LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $88,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned price increases could protect margins as memory and storage costs rise, and Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of upcoming AI-focused devices and a second-generation iPhone Air support confidence in Apple’s product pipeline and longer-term growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s planned price hikes may help earnings, but they could also pressure demand if consumers balk at higher handset prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple opening Brazil’s App Store to alternative marketplaces reduces regulatory friction there, but it also underscores ongoing global platform scrutiny. Article Title

Insider Transactions at Apple

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 transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, 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, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $289.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.98. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. 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 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 company 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%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.59.

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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