Fund Advisors of America Inc FL Buys New Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Fund Advisors of America Inc. FL opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 23,804 shares valued at about $6.47 million. Apple is now the fund’s 2nd-largest holding, making up 5.9% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $2.01 topping estimates and revenue of $111.18 billion beating expectations. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and analysts now expect Apple to earn 8.74 EPS for the full fiscal year.
• The stock remains heavily owned by institutions, with 67.73% held by institutional investors and hedge funds, even as insiders sold shares in recent months. Apple also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, lifting the annualized yield to about 0.4%.

Fund Advisors of America Inc FL purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,804 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $6,471,000. Apple makes up 5.9% of Fund Advisors of America Inc FL's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 0.7%

Apple stock opened at $294.98 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.26 and a twelve month high of $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $291.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is becoming more optimistic about Apple’s new Siri and AI strategy after the post-WWDC selloff, suggesting investors may be overreacting to near-term skepticism. After an Initial Panic, Wall Street's Leaning Into Apple's New Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple has agreed to partner with Intel to design and manufacture chips in the U.S. are being viewed as a supply-chain diversification win and a long-term catalyst for Apple’s hardware roadmap. Apple’s Intel Deal Arrives at the Right Time for Its Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook’s comments about higher memory costs and upcoming price increases are being interpreted by some analysts as supportive of Apple’s earnings power, since price hikes could help offset component inflation. Apple: Empirical Evidence Suggests Upcoming Price Hikes Will Boost Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s TV and streaming strategy is drawing attention, but the discussion appears more explanatory than immediately material to the stock. Apple Explains TV Library Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks comparison of NVIDIA and Apple highlights Apple’s lower valuation and services strength, reinforcing the stock’s defensive appeal without changing the near-term setup. NVIDIA vs. Apple: Which Tech Titan Is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Britain’s competition tribunal approved a £3 billion class action over iCloud fees, adding a meaningful legal overhang and potential financial liability for Apple. UK tribunal gives go ahead for $4 billion lawsuit against Apple over iCloud services
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces reputational risk after closing its first unionized U.S. store, with the union accusing the company of retaliation. Apple Just Closed Its First Unionized U.S. Store
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say Apple is forcing price increases on hardware because memory and chip costs are rising, which could pressure demand if consumers push back. Memory's price surge threatens Apple's 'magic formula' — and the economy

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. KGI Securities cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.85.

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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