Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC Invests $597,000 in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC opened a new Apple position in the fourth quarter, buying 2,408 shares valued at about $597,000. Apple now makes up roughly 0.7% of the firm’s holdings.
• Apple continues to attract major institutional interest, with large investors such as Norges Bank, Nuveen, and Vanguard holding or adding to positions. Institutional ownership stands at 67.73% of the stock.
• Recent operating and market updates were generally positive: Apple beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, raised its dividend, and analysts mostly maintain Buy ratings with an average price target of $314.59.

Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,408 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $597,000. Apple accounts for about 0.7% of Cogent Strategic Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in Apple by 890.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple News Summary

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

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $298.01 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. 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 current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50-day moving average is $289.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.59.

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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