Dogwood Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,533 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Dogwood Wealth Management reduced its Apple stake by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,533 shares and leaving it with 10,218 shares worth about $2.78 million.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 versus $1.95 expected and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $312.82.

Dogwood Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,533 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.2% of Dogwood Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. American Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 3.7% during the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Avant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $310.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $279.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.84. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.07 and a 1 year high of $316.94. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $253.00 price objective (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $312.82.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

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

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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