NWF Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 1,702 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• NWF Advisory Services Inc. boosted its Apple stake by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,702 shares and bringing its total holding to 130,927 shares worth about $35.6 million.
• Apple remains heavily owned by institutions, with major investors like Vanguard, State Street, Geode, Morgan Stanley, and Norges Bank also adding shares; hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the stock.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, topping estimates with $2.01 EPS and $111.18 billion in revenue, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

NWF Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,927 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.9% of NWF Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. NWF Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $35,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $164,218,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,659,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $298.01 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.85 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's 50-day moving average is $289.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $314.59.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned price increases could protect margins as memory and storage costs rise, and Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of upcoming AI-focused devices and a second-generation iPhone Air support confidence in Apple’s product pipeline and longer-term growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s planned price hikes may help earnings, but they could also pressure demand if consumers balk at higher handset prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple opening Brazil’s App Store to alternative marketplaces reduces regulatory friction there, but it also underscores ongoing global platform scrutiny. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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