Moran Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management increased its Apple stake by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 6,801 shares to bring its total to 47,746 shares worth about $12.98 million.
• Apple reported strong fiscal-quarter results, with earnings per share of $2.01 beating estimates and revenue of $111.18 billion also topping expectations, while revenue rose 16.6% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, even as recent insider sales from CEO Tim Cook and CFO Kevan Parekh modestly weighed on sentiment.

Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,746 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 6,801 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $12,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $311,157,662,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005,297 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $123,358,461,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224,229 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $72,506,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942,638 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% 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. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents 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 sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $294.80 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $263.24 and a 200-day moving average of $266.73. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $295.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming WWDC is seen as a major catalyst that could reset investor expectations around its AI roadmap and support another leg higher if management delivers a stronger vision for Siri, iOS, and future devices. The Event That Could Redefine Apple’s Summer Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is also being viewed more favorably after reports highlighted strong supply-chain execution, continued AI-services potential, and a growing case for the stock as a momentum name. Apple (AAPL) Gains Wall Street Confidence on Supply Chain Strength and AI Services Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Apple and Google are rolling out end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging between iPhone and Android users, which should improve the messaging experience and support the ecosystem value proposition. Apple And Google Finally Close SMS Security Gap...
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Apple is planning customizable camera controls and Siri design changes in iOS 27, which could help future product appeal but are still early-stage software rumors. Apple Plans Customizable Camera for Pros, Siri Design Changes in iOS 27
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s director and an insider both sold shares recently, which can create some caution, but the sales appear modest relative to Apple’s overall size and recent record earnings. Apple Board Veteran Sells $71 Million in Stock After Record Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: A new federal appeals-court decision temporarily keeping Trump’s 10% global tariffs in place could preserve cost pressure on imported consumer electronics, including Apple products. Appeals Court Temporarily Reinstates Trump’s 10% Global Tariffs
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares, a small signal that may slightly dampen sentiment, though it is not large enough on its own to change the broader bullish narrative. SEC insider filing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $335.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stephens set a $315.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.74.

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.

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.