Novare Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Novare Capital Management trimmed its Apple stake by 1.3% in the first quarter, selling 2,896 shares and ending with 224,755 shares worth about $57.0 million. Apple remains the fund’s second-largest holding, making up 4.5% of its portfolio.
• Despite mixed moves from institutions, Wall Street remains broadly positive on Apple, with the consensus rating at Moderate Buy and an average price target of $314.85. Several firms recently reiterated buy or outperform ratings, including Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.
• Apple’s latest results were strong, as it reported EPS of $2.01 on $111.18 billion in revenue, both ahead of expectations, while revenue rose 16.6% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Novare Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,755 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,896 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.5% of Novare Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Novare Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $57,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $69,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial restated 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.85.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Apple Stock Up 3.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $284.29 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $199.26 and a one 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 company has a market cap of $4.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $292.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm 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%. The company's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. 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 yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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.