Ellenbecker Investment Group Grows Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Ellenbecker Investment Group increased its Apple stake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 1,738 shares to bring its total to 38,676 shares valued at about $10.5 million.
• Institutional ownership of Apple remains strong, with 67.73% of shares held by hedge funds and other institutional investors, even as some insiders have recently sold stock.
• Analysts are broadly positive on Apple, citing potential upside from AI initiatives such as Siri upgrades and Apple Intelligence, while the stock also continues to trade near its 52-week high after a strong earnings beat and a small dividend increase.

Ellenbecker Investment Group grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,676 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,738 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.5% of Ellenbecker Investment Group's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Ellenbecker Investment Group's holdings in Apple were worth $10,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming WWDC is expected to showcase a major Siri AI overhaul and broader iOS AI upgrades, reinforcing expectations for a stronger AI product cycle. Apple to Unveil Siri’s AI Overhaul at June Conference
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are increasingly bullish that Apple’s ecosystem could benefit from agentic AI, with Bank of America reportedly lifting its price target and pointing to user identity, payments, and app access as key advantages. Bank of America Raises Its Apple Stock Price Target to $380. Agentic AI Could Be the Upside Driver.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces highlight Apple as a momentum stock and suggest Apple Intelligence could drive iPhone and Mac upgrades, which supports the case for further revenue growth. Apple Intelligence Drives Up iPhone & Mac Sales: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Leak-driven coverage around the iPhone 18 Pro’s rumored colors and camera changes is generating buzz, but it is too early to be a major fundamental stock driver. iPhone 18 Pro dummy units reveal four color options [Gallery] - 9to5Mac
• Negative Sentiment: Some technical commentary warns Apple is approaching long-term resistance and may need a consolidation period after a strong run, which could limit near-term upside. Apple (AAPL) Faces $355 Barrier at Top of Its Multi-Year Uptrend Structure

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. KGI Securities upgraded Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $312.06 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $275.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $270.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.07 and a 1 year high of $315.00.

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, 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 prior year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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