Golden Reserve Retirement LLC Purchases 12,895 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Golden Reserve Retirement LLC increased its Apple stake by 645.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,895 additional shares and bringing its total to 14,893 shares worth about $4.05 million.
• Analysts are generally still constructive on Apple, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.74, though some firms remain cautious on valuation.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Golden Reserve Retirement LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 645.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,893 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 12,895 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 0.7% of Golden Reserve Retirement LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Golden Reserve Retirement LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Maxim Group upgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $253.00 target price (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.74.

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

AAPL opened at $308.82 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $269.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.63. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $311.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06.

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. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. 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 0.3%. 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:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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.

Apple 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.