Jefferson Bridge Capital LLC Takes Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Jefferson Bridge Capital LLC bought a new stake of 12,424 shares of Apple in Q4 worth about $3.38 million, representing ~3.4% of its portfolio and making AAPL its eighth-largest holding.
• Insider sales: CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares (~$16.5M) and SVP Deirdre O’Brien sold 30,002 shares in April, both transactions executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans and reducing their ownership.
• Company performance and analyst view: Apple beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.84 vs. $2.67) with revenue up 15.7%, carries a market cap near $4 trillion, and has a consensus "Moderate Buy" analyst rating with an average price target around $303.

Jefferson Bridge Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,424 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,378,000. Apple comprises about 3.4% of Jefferson Bridge Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Overbrook Management Corp increased its stake in Apple by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,449,000 after acquiring an additional 38,174 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 2.2% in the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $101,301,000 after acquiring an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Apple by 48.4% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $363,256,000 after acquiring an additional 465,393 shares during the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management increased its stake in Apple by 4.3% in the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Apple by 3.9% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 734,485 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $187,022,000 after acquiring an additional 27,445 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $271.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.25 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The firm's fifty day moving average is $260.03 and its 200 day moving average is $264.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm'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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on 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. Maxim Group raised Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $303.06.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong product demand: Apple’s $599 M4 Mac mini has sold out online amid an AI-driven upswing in mac‑mini interest, signalling healthy hardware demand ahead of upcoming results. Good luck getting a Mac Mini anytime soon
• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism around new CEO: John Ternus was named CEO effective September 1; several pieces highlight why investors should be encouraged (hardware pedigree, potential renewed product focus). That optimism supports a constructive view on future device cycles. 2 Reasons Investors Should Be Excited for the New Apple CEO
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and market support ahead of earnings: Firms including Wedbush and others have reiterated favorable views or buying interest into the earnings cadence and iPhone cycle, lending some near‑term support. Wedbush Reaffirms Outperform for Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO succession — expectations and risks: Coverage (FT, NYT, Motley Fool) lays out the transition details and the main tasks for John Ternus; this is a material change but many view it as orderly for now. The Apple juggernaut and the AI roadblock
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data is noisy/unclear this month (reported values are effectively zero/invalid), so it provides little actionable signal today.
• Negative Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway selling: Reports show Warren Buffett’s group cut a large portion (~75%) of its Apple stake and redeployed funds into Chubb — a headline catalyst for today’s selling and a signal that a major, long‑held holder is trimming exposure. Warren Buffett Quietly Sold 75% of His Biggest Holding
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/AI execution risks: India’s antitrust probe of the App Store and persistent questions about Apple’s AI/Siri progress and executive departures raise execution and legal-risk concerns that could pressure multiple quarters. Indian Antitrust Push Tests Apple App Store Model

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.

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.