Quotient Wealth Partners LLC Has $22.97 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its Apple stake by 11% in Q1, buying 8,942 more shares and lifting its position to 90,509 shares worth about $22.97 million.
• Apple’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $2.01 versus $1.95 expected and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Apple, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $314.85, while the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,509 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 8,942 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 0.6% of Quotient Wealth Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $22,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 Apple stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $293.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $291.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $273.15. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.26 and a fifty-two week 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.85.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new Siri and broader AI reset is being viewed positively by analysts, with BofA reiterating a Buy rating and saying the WWDC update could strengthen Apple’s AI position and support the stock. BofA Says Apple’s (AAPL) New Siri Strategy Could Strengthen its AI Position
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s reported chip partnership with Intel is being framed as strategically important, with investors focused on supply-chain diversification and a longer-term domestic chip roadmap that could benefit future product cycles. Apple-Intel chip deal makes strategic sense but production is years away
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentaries say Apple shares are building toward a possible breakout, with the stock staying close to its all-time high and forming a fresh buy zone as momentum improves. Apple Stock Polishing New Buy Zone With All-Time High In Sight
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also drawing attention for comments from Eddy Cue about expanding entertainment offerings on Apple TV and in theaters, which supports the long-term services story but is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Apple aims for better and more entertainment offerings, executive Cue says
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still weighing headwinds from rising memory costs and the possibility of iPhone price increases, which could pressure demand if Apple passes through higher component prices. Apple Price Hike Fears May Be Overblown, Says J.P. Morgan
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces legal overhang after a UK tribunal allowed a $4 billion iCloud class-action lawsuit to proceed, adding another potential regulatory and financial risk. Apple supplier Lingyi iTech prices $1.06 billion Hong Kong IPO to tap AI demand

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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