ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its Apple stake by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, buying over 2 million additional shares and making Apple its second-largest holding.
• Several analysts remain positive on Apple, with multiple Buy/Outperform ratings and a consensus price target of $312.82, while Wedbush sees even more upside at $400.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also raised its dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26.

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 21.4% 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 11,397,763 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,009,397 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.5% of ProShare Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Apple worth $3,098,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased 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 valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased 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 valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $253.00 price target (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a report 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 given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $312.82.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC keynote is expected to highlight a revamped Siri, Apple Intelligence updates, and a broader AI strategy, which could act as a near-term catalyst if the company shows meaningful progress. Will WWDC Drive Apple Stock (AAPL) Higher? Here’s What Analysts Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with Citi reiterating a Buy and Wedbush reaffirming Outperform with a $400 target, citing Apple’s AI inflection point and resilient iPhone fundamentals. Asiya Merchant Reiterates Buy on Apple, Citing AI Strategy Inflection and Resilient iPhone Fundamentals
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store update showed $1.4 trillion in sales and billings last year, reinforcing the scale of its Services ecosystem even as most transactions did not carry a commission. Apple touts $1.4 trillion in App Store billings and sales, 90% without a commission
• Positive Sentiment: Foxconn raised its second-quarter outlook, a constructive signal for Apple’s supply chain and iPhone demand, since Foxconn is Apple’s top iPhone assembler. Taiwan's Foxconn raises guidance for second-quarter outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple may rely on Google cloud infrastructure and Nvidia chips to power a redesigned Siri suggest the company is prioritizing speed to market, but they also underscore that Apple is leaning on outside partners for its AI push. Apple Taps Google to Prep Siri For September Revamp
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns that Apple still faces a high bar to justify its valuation, and UBS noted decelerating App Store growth could pressure the Services growth story if AI execution disappoints. Investors Should Worry About Apple’s (AAPL) Decelerating App Store Growth, Says UBS

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

Apple stock opened at $307.34 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $281.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.37. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $195.07 and a 12 month high of $316.94. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

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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