Sheets Smith Wealth Management Buys 3,834 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its Apple stake by 8.1%, buying 3,834 shares to hold 51,236 shares worth about $13.93 million, representing 1.5% of the firm's portfolio and its 12th largest holding.
• Insider sales on April 2 included SVP Deirdre O'Brien selling 30,002 shares and CEO Tim Cook selling 64,949 shares (both via pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans), leaving company insiders with roughly 0.06% ownership.
• Near‑term catalysts include a ~20% jump in iPhone shipments in China (Q1), analyst upgrades and price‑target increases, and heavy options activity ahead of Apple’s April 30 earnings — boosting sentiment but also raising short‑term volatility risk.

Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,236 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,834 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.5% of Sheets Smith Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Sheets Smith Wealth Management's holdings in Apple were worth $13,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 6.4% during 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. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 40,543 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was 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. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Counterpoint/Reuters data show iPhone shipments in China jumped ~20% in Q1 — far outpacing the market and supporting Apple’s revenue and share‑gain narrative in its largest smartphone market. Apple's iPhone shipments in China surge 20% in Q1, data shows
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas upgraded AAPL to Outperform and raised its price target (citing supply‑chain strength and a premium mix benefit as memory prices rise), which helped lift sentiment and buy‑side interest. Apple Upgraded To Outperform As BNP Sees Share Gains From Memory Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target and highlighted Apple’s M5/edge‑AI roadmap as a meaningful product/AI catalyst — reinforcing the case for multiple expansion if product momentum continues. Bank of America Increases Apple Price Target to $325
• Neutral Sentiment: Heavy call‑option activity and structured trades around Apple’s April 30 earnings show traders positioning for a big move; options can amplify returns but also add short‑term volatility risk. Apple Stock Trade Risk Around Earnings Offers A 27% Reward
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate moves — a leadership transition in Wearables/Home and Project Glasswing (an AI security alliance) — underline long‑term product and services initiatives but are unlikely to move near‑term earnings materially. Apple’s Wearables Shakeup And AI Security Push Shape Long Term Story
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory and component costs remain a two‑edged sword — while some analysts argue it improves Apple’s competitive positioning, higher input prices can compress margins if the premium mix or pricing power softens. Apple Upgrade Hinges on Cost Advantage Shift
• Negative Sentiment: TSMC’s strong AI‑driven results and supply comments briefly pressured AAPL aftermarket moves (market reads TSMC commentary as mixed signal for margins/supply dynamics). Also expect volatility into the April 30 earnings print. TSMC’s Results Weren’t a Great Sign for Apple

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Apple from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $301.33.

Apple Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $270.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.16, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $189.81 and a one year high of $288.62. The company's fifty day moving average price is $259.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The company's revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.15%.

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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