J.M. Arbour LLC Invests $1.64 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• J.M. Arbour LLC opened a new Apple position in the fourth quarter, buying 6,024 shares valued at about $1.64 million. Apple now accounts for roughly 1.6% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, both topping analyst estimates. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, underscoring strong demand and profitability.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $305.74.

J.M. Arbour LLC purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,024 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,638,000. Apple makes up about 1.6% of J.M. Arbour LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 6.4% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 15.7% during the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $292.68 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.46 and a 52 week high of $294.76. The firm's fifty day moving average is $262.63 and its 200 day moving average is $266.47. The company has a market cap of $4.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 12.58%.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest earnings showed record-like strength, with revenue and EPS beating estimates and iPhone sales surging, reinforcing confidence in the company’s core business and margin profile.
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is being viewed more favorably on AI and product innovation, with analysts and commentators highlighting a coming WWDC catalyst, deeper AI integration, and potential new growth from wearables, Vision products, and smart glasses.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple may use Intel for some chip production could be seen as strategically positive because it reduces reliance on a single supplier and may improve long-term supply-chain resilience. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s pricing power remains intact, as it reportedly raised the Mac mini’s starting price while still seeing strong demand and backorders, suggesting healthy interest in its hardware lineup.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple will pay its quarterly dividend today, which supports the stock’s income appeal but is not likely a major near-term share-price driver.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Arthur Levinson’s $71 million stock sale may temper enthusiasm a bit, since insider selling near highs can signal management caution or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns that Apple’s stock may be getting stretched after its run-up, and rising component costs could pressure future margins if consumer hardware pricing becomes harder to manage.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $305.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple 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 completion of the transaction, 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 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 have sold a total of 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company 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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