Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its Apple stake by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 11,187 more shares and bringing its total to 201,637 shares valued at about $52.5 million.
• Apple beat earnings and revenue expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting $2.01 EPS on $111.18 billion in revenue, with revenue up 16.6% year over year.
• The stock was trading up 1.8% at $296.42, while analysts remained generally bullish with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.59.

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 201,637 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 11,187 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.5% of Nicolet Advisory Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $52,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Overbrook Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.3% during the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,178,000. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,482,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,915,172,000 after purchasing an additional 214,215 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $296.42 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $195.07 and a 52 week high of $317.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $286.45 and a 200 day moving average of $272.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said Apple’s WWDC AI rollout could be the “first step” toward adding as much as $100 to the stock, as investors focus on the company’s AI execution and the potential for a stronger Siri/Apple Intelligence roadmap. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports on iOS 27 and Apple Intelligence suggest Apple is making progress on features that could improve older iPhones, expand software value, and strengthen the case for users to upgrade into the next product cycle. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains constructive, with several firms reiterating buy/overweight views and price targets clustered well above current levels, reinforcing a bullish long-term sentiment on AAPL. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlight Apple’s strong recent operating performance, including record iPhone demand and services revenue, but these are largely a rehash of prior earnings strength rather than a fresh catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A Yahoo Finance report says rising memory chip costs could pressure Apple’s hardware margins as AI features require more device memory, creating a potential headwind for profitability over the next few quarters. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Broader sentiment is also being dampened by articles noting that the Magnificent Seven, including Apple, have been weak in June and have lagged the broader market at times, which can weigh on near-term momentum. Article Title

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.59.

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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