Reflection Asset Management Acquires Shares of 27,600 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Reflection Asset Management opened a new position in Apple, buying 27,600 shares worth about $7.5 million; Apple now makes up 5.3% of the firm’s portfolio and is its second-largest holding.
• Several other institutions also boosted or initiated Apple positions, and overall 67.73% of Apple’s stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS estimates with $2.01 per share on $111.18 billion in revenue, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $314.59.

Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 27,600 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $7,503,000. Apple accounts for about 5.3% of Reflection Asset Management's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased 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 buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Maxim Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $314.59.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $298.01 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $289.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.91. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $196.85 and a one year high of $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Apple

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

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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