Coquina Private Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Coquina Private Wealth LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Apple, buying 18,190 shares worth about $4.95 million. Apple now makes up 4.0% of the firm’s portfolio and is its fifth-largest holding.
• Apple insiders recently sold shares, including SVP Deirdre O’Brien and CEO Tim Cook, with total insider sales of 97,759 shares over the past 90 days. The sales were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and also raised its dividend to $0.27 per share. Analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $308.74.

Coquina Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,945,000. Apple accounts for 4.0% of Coquina Private Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $112,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $308.82 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $311.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $269.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Moffett Nathanson increased their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.74.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

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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