Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC Raises Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC increased its Apple stake by 34.3% in the first quarter, adding 2,110 shares to bring its total to 8,264 shares worth about $2.1 million.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $2.01 per share and revenue of $111.18 billion, both topping analyst expectations. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with recent price-target increases from firms like Citi and TD Cowen, even as some analysts warn that slowing iPhone upgrades and weaker Services growth could limit upside.

Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 34.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.0% of Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,902,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $314.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.10. 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 1 year low of $201.50 and a 1 year high of $323.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $301.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple 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 value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Apple to $365 and kept a Buy rating, arguing the company can keep gaining market share and may benefit from premium iPhone pricing and Apple Intelligence upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to show strong smartphone performance, including record Q2 market share in China and reports that it has outperformed the broader smartphone slump, which supports the case for resilient demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also focusing on potential future catalysts such as a possible iPhone price increase and new product cycles, including foldable iPhone plans and AI-focused chip development. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI is keeping the stock in the headlines; it could protect Apple’s intellectual property and slow a competitor’s hardware push, but it also adds legal uncertainty. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Broadcom’s multiyear chip agreement was described as strategically positive for Apple’s AI silicon efforts, but it is more of a longer-term support story than a direct near-term stock mover. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc’s downgrade and related bearish commentary from other firms are the clearest reasons Apple stock is lower, with analysts warning that slowing iPhone upgrades and softer Services growth could limit further upside. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating 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 research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $313.11.

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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