Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Sightline Wealth Advisors boosted its Apple stake by 71.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,683 more shares and bringing its total holding to 6,456 shares worth about $1.76 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 67.73% of Apple shares; several firms also increased positions during the period.
• Analysts remain broadly upbeat on Apple, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $305.74, while recent earnings beat expectations and Apple raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 71.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,456 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,683 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 0.7% of Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Argo Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,424,000. Draper Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Draper Asset Management LLC now owns 125,005 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $33,984,000 after purchasing an additional 36,223 shares during the last quarter. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,604,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. CM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. CM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40,487 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,007,000 after purchasing an additional 10,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 344,157 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $93,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.0%

AAPL opened at $293.25 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $294.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $261.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is 12.58%.

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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