Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC Has $13.75 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Lebenthal Global Advisors increased its Apple stake by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,634 additional shares for a total of 50,580 shares. The position was valued at about $13.75 million and makes Apple the firm’s 13th largest holding.
• Apple continues to attract major institutional support, with large investors like Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital Management, Norges Bank, and Northern Trust all reporting sizable holdings. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the stock.
• Apple’s fundamentals remain solid: it beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, raised its dividend slightly to $0.27 per share, and analysts still rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $308.74.

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.1% of Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $13,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $311,157,662,000 after buying an additional 5,005,297 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $123,358,461,000 after buying an additional 5,224,229 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $72,506,336,000 after buying an additional 4,942,638 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group set a $296.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.74.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% 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 have sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $308.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $311.40. The business's 50 day moving average is $269.64 and its 200-day moving average is $268.63.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Trending Headlines about Apple

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

Apple Company 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.

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