Root Financial Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Root Financial Partners increased its Apple stake by 1.8% in the first quarter, adding 2,416 shares to bring its total to 133,545 shares valued at about $33.9 million.
• Apple continues to attract broad institutional interest, with 67.73% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutions, even as a few executives have recently sold shares.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Apple, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $314.85; the company also topped quarterly earnings estimates and raised its dividend slightly.

Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,545 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.6% of Root Financial Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Root Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $33,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st 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 during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.85.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new lawsuit against OpenAI could help protect its hardware roadmap and reinforce its control over proprietary technology, which may support its long-term competitive position. Reuters: Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines around Apple’s expanded multi-year chip deal with Broadcom continue to boost sentiment, since the agreement strengthens Apple’s supply chain, supports U.S. manufacturing, and deepens its custom silicon strategy. Yahoo Finance: Apple Secures Largest Ever US Chip Deal With Broadcom For $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also named among approved U.S. companies eligible for license-free exports under eased UAE trade rules, which is supportive for international operations but not clearly a near-term stock catalyst. Quiver Quant: U.S. eases export controls on UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, suggesting today’s move is being driven more by news flow than by a shift in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit also highlights that Apple’s relationship with a major AI player has soured, adding uncertainty around future AI partnerships and potentially distracting management with litigation. Financial Times: Apple sues OpenAI, alleging it stole top-secret information

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $315.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $201.50 and a one year high of $317.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10. The company's fifty day moving average is $299.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. 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 is 13.06%.

Apple 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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