Michael Brady & Co. LLC Purchases New Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Michael Brady & Co. LLC opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 7,829 shares worth about $2.13 million. Apple now makes up roughly 2.1% of the firm’s portfolio and is its eighth-largest holding.
• 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, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 from $0.26.
• Apple stock has been strong recently, opening at $300.23 and trading near its 52-week high of $303.20, with a market cap of $4.41 trillion. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $308.74.

Michael Brady & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,829 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,128,000. Apple comprises about 2.1% of Michael Brady & Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd 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 grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd 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 grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st 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 shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $300.23 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $265.37 and its 200-day moving average is $267.47. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.46 and a 52 week high of $303.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s post-earnings rally continues after the company posted record quarterly revenue and EPS, boosted its dividend, and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analysts say the results support further upside and have raised price targets. Apple Stock Hits All-Time High as Post-Earnings Rally Continues
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Apple to $365 and said a bull-case scenario could reach $500, citing compounding growth from Services and Apple’s ability to keep expanding free cash flow. Evercore ISI Hikes Apple Price Target to $365
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being helped by reports that iPhone demand remains strong globally, plus Soros Fund Management reportedly boosted its Apple position during the quarter. George Soros’s fund buys Berkshire Hathaway stock — now that Buffett is gone
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut iPhone 17 prices in China ahead of the 618 shopping festival, which could help support unit sales in a key market. Apple Cuts iPhone 17 Prices in China
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is considering legal action over its strained ChatGPT partnership with Apple, which adds uncertainty around Apple’s AI strategy and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. OpenAI explores legal options against Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic’s Mythos AI found vulnerabilities in Apple’s macOS/iOS are a reminder of ongoing security scrutiny, but the news is more reputational than fundamentally financial for now. Anthropic's Mythos Helped Find Bugs in Apple's Desktop Operating System

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. 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 research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $296.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Phillip Securities raised shares of Apple from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

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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