LS Investment Advisors LLC Has $78.08 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• LS Investment Advisors LLC reduced its Apple stake by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, but still held 287,219 shares valued at about $78.1 million. Apple remains its largest holding, making up 10.9% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Apple reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue rose 16.6% from a year earlier, and analysts currently expect full-year EPS of 8.74.
• The stock has been supported by upbeat sentiment, including higher analyst price targets and news that Apple raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share. The company also trades near its 52-week high after recent gains.

LS Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 287,219 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 12,294 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 10.9% of LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $78,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 3.7% during the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Phillip Securities upgraded Apple from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Scotiabank set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.74.

Apple Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $293.25 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $193.46 and a one year high of $294.76. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $261.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's 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 owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's 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 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. Insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.

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