High Point Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,942 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• High Point Wealth Management opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 1,942 shares worth about $528,000.
• Apple’s latest results showed continued strength, with earnings of $2.01 per share topping expectations and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.74.

High Point Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,942 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $528,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 150,064 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $40,796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,001,087 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $272,156,000 after acquiring an additional 31,284 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in Apple by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 105,881 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,785,000 after acquiring an additional 3,618 shares in the last quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,257 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,235,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brickley Wealth Management lifted its position in Apple by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Brickley Wealth Management now owns 388,140 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $105,520,000 after purchasing an additional 12,634 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $308.82 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $193.46 and a one year high of $311.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $270.70 and a 200-day moving average of $268.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Maxim Group raised shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly cutting prices in China ahead of the June 18 “618” shopping holiday, a move that could boost unit sales and help defend market share in a key region, according to Wedbush. Dear Apple Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 18
• Positive Sentiment: Apple was highlighted as a top-ranked momentum stock by Zacks, reinforcing the idea that the shares continue to attract technical and style-based buying interest. Apple (AAPL) is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Memorial Day tech promotions featuring Apple products may support short-term demand and keep the brand top of mind with consumers during a heavy shopping period. Memorial Day tech sales are live: Save up to 50% off on some of our favorite gadgets at Amazon, Apple, Best Buy and more
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces framed Apple as a core mega-cap stock, but they did not introduce new fundamentals that would materially change the near-term outlook. Instead of Chasing Alpha, Here Are 4 Ways to Pick the Low-Hanging Apples
• Neutral Sentiment: Other articles discussed Apple in broader tech or portfolio contexts, including comparisons with Microsoft and ETF exposure, which are more informational than stock-moving on their own. Apple vs. Microsoft: What Their Revenue Trends Reveal for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Huawei’s new smartphone chip plans add another competitive overhang for Apple, raising concerns about iPhone demand in China and the broader premium-phone market. Huawei unveils new smartphone chips this fall as rivalry with Nvidia and Apple heats up
• Negative Sentiment: A Bloomberg report said Apple’s Watch and health strategy needs a reboot to stay competitive, suggesting wearables remain an area where rivals could gain ground. Apple’s Watch and Health Efforts Need Reboot to Rival New Wearables
• Negative Sentiment: Some opinion pieces argued Apple may eventually lose momentum versus other mega-cap winners, which could weigh on sentiment even though these were long-term speculative takes rather than immediate catalysts. 3 Reasons Apple Will Be Booted From The Magnificent 7 By The End Of 2030

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.

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.