Financial Alternatives Inc Trims Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Financial Alternatives Inc reduced its Apple stake by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,090 shares and leaving it with 11,768 shares worth about $3.2 million.
• Apple continues to attract strong institutional interest overall, with 67.73% of shares owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors, while several funds either added to or initiated positions in the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Apple ahead of WWDC, citing its AI roadmap and ecosystem strength, though some warn the stock may already reflect a lot of optimism and faces regulatory and competitive risks.

Financial Alternatives Inc trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,768 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,090 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.9% of Financial Alternatives Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Financial Alternatives Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $3,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 44,074 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,982,000 after acquiring an additional 3,869 shares during the period. Ballast Rock Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $7,965,000. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 370,978 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $100,854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965 shares during the period. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 53,002 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,409,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Finally, Frontier Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Asset Management LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Apple News

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $312.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction 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 represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of AAPL opened at $310.26 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm's 50-day moving average is $279.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $270.84. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.07 and a twelve month high of $316.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.52, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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