Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its Apple stake by 124.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 4,825 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 8,709 shares valued at about $2.37 million.
• Apple’s stock was trading near its 52-week high, with the article noting a share price of $308.82 and a recent 1.3% gain. The company also remains heavily owned by institutions, which hold about 67.73% of the stock.
• Recent fundamentals and sentiment around Apple were mostly positive: the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, raised its dividend to $0.27 per share, and analysts generally maintain a Moderate Buy rating. However, some caution remains over valuation after the stock’s strong run.

Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 124.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,709 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 4,825 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.2% of Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $2,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. 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: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $308.82 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.46 and a 52 week high of $311.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $269.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.63. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Maxim Group upgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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