Niles Investment Management LLC Makes New $10.07 Million Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Niles Investment Management opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 37,028 shares valued at about $10.07 million. Apple became its second-largest holding, making up roughly 7.7% of the portfolio.
• Apple’s latest quarterly results showed continued strength, with EPS of $2.01 beating expectations and revenue of $111.18 billion topping estimates. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.
• Wall Street remains broadly constructive on AAPL, with several firms reiterating buy ratings and price targets above current levels. However, some near-term headwinds include insider selling and concerns that rising memory chip costs could pressure hardware margins.

Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 37,028 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $10,066,000. Apple makes up approximately 7.7% of Niles Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Overbrook Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,449,000 after acquiring an additional 38,174 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $1,178,000. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $105,482,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,915,172,000 after acquiring an additional 214,215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $296.42 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $286.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $272.38. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $195.07 and a 1-year high of $317.40. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Maxim Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.59.

About Apple

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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