Entrust Financial LLC Acquires New Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Entrust Financial LLC opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 9,516 shares valued at about $2.59 million. Apple now makes up roughly 1.9% of the firm’s portfolio and is its ninth-largest holding.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, posting $2.01 EPS versus the $1.95 estimate and $111.18 billion in revenue, both ahead of expectations. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year.
• The company also raised its dividend slightly to $0.27 per quarter from $0.26, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $312.82.

Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,516 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,587,000. Apple accounts for approximately 1.9% of Entrust Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 110.9% during the third 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 boosted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first 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 bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $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 purchasing an additional 40,543 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 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. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $307.34 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $195.07 and a 52-week high of $316.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $281.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend 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 was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $335.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities 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 given 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 target price of $312.82.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC keynote is expected to highlight a revamped Siri, Apple Intelligence updates, and a broader AI strategy, which could act as a near-term catalyst if the company shows meaningful progress. Will WWDC Drive Apple Stock (AAPL) Higher? Here’s What Analysts Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with Citi reiterating a Buy and Wedbush reaffirming Outperform with a $400 target, citing Apple’s AI inflection point and resilient iPhone fundamentals. Asiya Merchant Reiterates Buy on Apple, Citing AI Strategy Inflection and Resilient iPhone Fundamentals
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store update showed $1.4 trillion in sales and billings last year, reinforcing the scale of its Services ecosystem even as most transactions did not carry a commission. Apple touts $1.4 trillion in App Store billings and sales, 90% without a commission
• Positive Sentiment: Foxconn raised its second-quarter outlook, a constructive signal for Apple’s supply chain and iPhone demand, since Foxconn is Apple’s top iPhone assembler. Taiwan's Foxconn raises guidance for second-quarter outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple may rely on Google cloud infrastructure and Nvidia chips to power a redesigned Siri suggest the company is prioritizing speed to market, but they also underscore that Apple is leaning on outside partners for its AI push. Apple Taps Google to Prep Siri For September Revamp
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns that Apple still faces a high bar to justify its valuation, and UBS noted decelerating App Store growth could pressure the Services growth story if AI execution disappoints. Investors Should Worry About Apple’s (AAPL) Decelerating App Store Growth, Says UBS

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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