Ninety One North America Inc. Takes $6.80 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Ninety One North America Inc. opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 24,998 shares worth about $6.8 million.
• Apple continues to attract broad institutional interest, with the article noting that 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors even as some insider selling has occurred.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including $2.01 EPS and $111.18 billion in revenue, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Ninety One North America Inc. bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 24,998 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $6,796,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its stake in Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Apple News

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 dated 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 owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% 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 have sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $294.80 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $263.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.46 and a 12 month high of $295.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Phillip Securities raised shares of Apple from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Maxim Group raised shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $296.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.74.

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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