Diversified Management Inc. Invests $19.76 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Diversified Management Inc. opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 72,669 shares valued at about $19.76 million. Apple now makes up roughly 4.6% of the firm’s portfolio and is its fourth-largest holding.
• Apple continues to draw strong institutional and Wall Street support, with analysts maintaining a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $305.74. Recent targets have also trended higher, including TD Cowen and Monness Crespi & Hardt raising their price objectives to $335.
• The company posted a solid quarterly beat, reporting $2.01 EPS on revenue of $111.18 billion, while also increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share. However, insider selling and ongoing legal/regulatory issues remain potential headwinds for sentiment.

Diversified Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 72,669 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $19,756,000. Apple accounts for about 4.6% of Diversified Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.4% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in 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 period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 15.7% during the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.74.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $293.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. The company's 50-day moving average is $261.85 and its 200-day moving average is $266.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $294.76.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is 13.06%.

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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