D Orazio & Associates Inc. Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its Apple stake by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 3,869 shares and bringing its total holdings to 44,074 shares worth about $11.98 million.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with $2.01 EPS versus the $1.95 estimate and $111.18 billion in revenue, while also raising its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.27 per share.
• Despite a 1.6% stock decline in Thursday trading, analysts remain broadly positive on AAPL, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $312.82.

D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,074 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 3,869 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.5% of D Orazio & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. D Orazio & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $11,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Overbrook Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 48.4% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $363,256,000 after purchasing an additional 465,393 shares during the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.3% in the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $1,178,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,915,172,000 after purchasing an additional 214,215 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 1.6%

AAPL opened at $310.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $279.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.84. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $195.07 and a one year high of $316.94. 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $312.82.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts reiterated bullish views on Apple ahead of WWDC, including Goldman Sachs keeping a Buy rating with a $340 target and Evercore ISI lifting its target to $365, citing Apple’s AI roadmap, ecosystem strength, and services growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor expectations remain high that Apple will unveil major AI updates at WWDC, especially a rebuilt Siri and deeper Apple Intelligence features, which could extend the stock’s recent rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports suggest Apple may expand its ecosystem with a native bill-splitting/payment feature in iOS, which could deepen user engagement and strengthen its services revenue stream. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around Apple’s stock has been upbeat, with articles highlighting outperformance versus the S&P 500 and strong demand for iPhones and Macs ahead of the conference. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS said not to expect fireworks from WWDC and kept a Neutral rating, suggesting the event may not deliver a near-term stock catalyst if announcements disappoint. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent gains and all-time high have also prompted valuation concerns, with some analysts and commentators warning the shares may already price in a lot of good news. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Apple agreed to submit India business financials in an antitrust case, keeping regulatory risk in focus and raising the possibility of penalties. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive headlines from Nvidia, Walmart, and others show mounting pressure on parts of Apple’s ecosystem, including PCs and payments, which could weigh on sentiment if rivals gain traction. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. 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.

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