Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. Takes $860,000 Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Godfrey Financial Associates initiated a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 3,163 shares valued at about $860,000. Apple now makes up roughly 0.7% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Apple, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.59. Several firms recently reiterated positive ratings, including a raised target from Maxim Group to $350.
• Apple’s latest results showed better-than-expected earnings and revenue, with quarterly EPS of $2.01 versus estimates of $1.95 and revenue of $111.18 billion. The company also recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.27 per share.

Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,163 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $860,000. Apple accounts for about 0.7% of Godfrey Financial Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Maxim Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.59.

Apple Trading Down 3.6%

AAPL opened at $290.55 on Wednesday. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $283.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $271.79. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $195.07 and a 1-year high of $317.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. 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 analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Investors were disappointed that Siri’s AI overhaul still appears behind rivals, with launch timing stretching into later this year and some features limited to the U.S. at first. Apple shares slide after big Siri AI reveal
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warned that Apple is relying on Google Gemini/Nvidia infrastructure for parts of its advanced AI stack, raising questions about how much of the AI value capture Apple keeps in-house. Apple failed to make its AI tool to comply to EU regulations, EU Commission says
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley said the new Siri features may be held back by older iPhones, limiting the near-term upgrade cycle and the addressable installed base. Apple's AI Siri will be held back by aging devices, Morgan Stanley says

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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