PFG Advisors Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• PFG Advisors cut its Apple stake by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 68,245 shares and leaving it with 155,081 shares worth about $42.2 million.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.01 EPS on $111.18 billion in revenue, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.
• The stock has been buoyed by positive Wall Street sentiment, with analysts maintaining a moderate buy rating and an average price target of about $308.74.

PFG Advisors reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 30.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 155,081 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 68,245 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.0% of PFG Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. PFG Advisors' holdings in Apple were worth $42,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $112,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.7%

AAPL stock opened at $300.23 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $303.20. The company has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $265.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 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 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s post-earnings rally continues after the company posted record quarterly revenue and EPS, boosted its dividend, and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analysts say the results support further upside and have raised price targets. Apple Stock Hits All-Time High as Post-Earnings Rally Continues
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Apple to $365 and said a bull-case scenario could reach $500, citing compounding growth from Services and Apple’s ability to keep expanding free cash flow. Evercore ISI Hikes Apple Price Target to $365
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being helped by reports that iPhone demand remains strong globally, plus Soros Fund Management reportedly boosted its Apple position during the quarter. George Soros’s fund buys Berkshire Hathaway stock — now that Buffett is gone
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut iPhone 17 prices in China ahead of the 618 shopping festival, which could help support unit sales in a key market. Apple Cuts iPhone 17 Prices in China
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is considering legal action over its strained ChatGPT partnership with Apple, which adds uncertainty around Apple’s AI strategy and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. OpenAI explores legal options against Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic’s Mythos AI found vulnerabilities in Apple’s macOS/iOS are a reminder of ongoing security scrutiny, but the news is more reputational than fundamentally financial for now. Anthropic's Mythos Helped Find Bugs in Apple's Desktop Operating System

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, KGI Securities raised Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were 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 $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is 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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