Painted Porch Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Painted Porch Advisors LLC increased its Apple stake by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,899 additional shares and bringing its total to 55,696 shares worth about $15.1 million. Apple now represents roughly 6.1% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Institutional ownership of Apple remains very high, with 67.73% of the stock held by institutional investors. Several other funds also reported modest-to-large increases in their positions during the quarter.
• Apple continues to draw mixed analyst views despite strong recent financial results, including Q2 earnings of $2.01 per share on $111.18 billion in revenue, both above estimates. Wall Street’s consensus rating is currently Moderate Buy with a price target of $314.85.

Painted Porch Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,696 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 6.1% of Painted Porch Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Painted Porch Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $15,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $276.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. KGI Securities lowered shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Apple Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $294.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.26 and a 1 year high of $317.40. The firm's 50-day moving average is $291.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.06. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is becoming more optimistic about Apple’s new Siri and AI strategy after the post-WWDC selloff, suggesting investors may be overreacting to near-term skepticism. After an Initial Panic, Wall Street's Leaning Into Apple's New Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple has agreed to partner with Intel to design and manufacture chips in the U.S. are being viewed as a supply-chain diversification win and a long-term catalyst for Apple’s hardware roadmap. Apple’s Intel Deal Arrives at the Right Time for Its Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook’s comments about higher memory costs and upcoming price increases are being interpreted by some analysts as supportive of Apple’s earnings power, since price hikes could help offset component inflation. Apple: Empirical Evidence Suggests Upcoming Price Hikes Will Boost Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s TV and streaming strategy is drawing attention, but the discussion appears more explanatory than immediately material to the stock. Apple Explains TV Library Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks comparison of NVIDIA and Apple highlights Apple’s lower valuation and services strength, reinforcing the stock’s defensive appeal without changing the near-term setup. NVIDIA vs. Apple: Which Tech Titan Is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Britain’s competition tribunal approved a £3 billion class action over iCloud fees, adding a meaningful legal overhang and potential financial liability for Apple. UK tribunal gives go ahead for $4 billion lawsuit against Apple over iCloud services
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces reputational risk after closing its first unionized U.S. store, with the union accusing the company of retaliation. Apple Just Closed Its First Unionized U.S. Store
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say Apple is forcing price increases on hardware because memory and chip costs are rising, which could pressure demand if consumers push back. Memory's price surge threatens Apple's 'magic formula' — and the economy

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% 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 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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