Split Rock Private Trading & Wealth Management LLC Acquires Shares of 25,564 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Split Rock Private Trading & Wealth Management bought a new position of 25,564 shares of Apple (≈$6.95M), making AAPL 5.6% of its portfolio and its fifth-largest holding.
• Apple reported a record March quarter with strong iPhone 17 sales, announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.27 (record May 11, paid mid‑May), and is expanding AI and chip-supply initiatives, but faces a $250M Siri settlement and ongoing legal risks.

Split Rock Private Trading & Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 25,564 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $6,950,000. Apple accounts for 5.6% of Split Rock Private Trading & Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Avant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg/Reuters reports Apple will let users pick third‑party AI models across iOS 27 features — a move that turns iPhones into a more open AI platform, increasing services opportunities and ecosystem stickiness. Apple to let users choose rival AI models across iOS 27 features
• Positive Sentiment: Apple confirmed an increased dividend with an upcoming record/ex‑dividend timeline (shareholders of record May 11; payment mid‑May), supporting income-oriented demand. Dear Apple Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for May 11
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is exploring U.S. chip manufacturing partnerships with Intel and Samsung reduce single‑supplier (TSMC) risk — a structural supply‑chain play that investors see as de‑risking long‑term device production. The news also lifted chip peers, signaling investor appetite for the strategy. Apple explores using Intel, Samsung to build main device chips in the US
• Positive Sentiment: Strong product performance: iPhone 17 is reported as the world’s best‑selling smartphone in Q1 and Apple posted a record March quarter (revenue/EPS beats), reinforcing top‑line momentum. iPhone 17 Rules, Becomes World's Best‑Selling Smartphone
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s R&D spending has crossed 10% of sales as it accelerates AI investment — good for long‑term product leadership but raises near‑term operating leverage and investor focus on ROI. Apple crosses 10% of sales on AI R&D
• Neutral Sentiment: Product lineup changes and temporary pulled Mac Studio/Mac mini high‑memory configs point to supply bottlenecks for Macs — supports demand proof but may keep near‑term sales lumpy. Apple pulls high‑memory Mac mini/Mac Studio configs from store on supply crunch
• Negative Sentiment: Apple agreed to a $250M settlement in lawsuits over delayed/mis‑advertised Siri/AI features — the cost is manageable but highlights execution and marketing risks around AI rollouts and could create modest near‑term cash outflows and reputational headlines. Apple settles lawsuit over late Siri AI features for $250 million
• Negative Sentiment: Legal pressure persists: Apple failed to pause a contempt ruling related to the Epic Games App Store case, keeping antitrust/legal overhangs on the stock. Apple dealt blow by Supreme Court in long‑running antitrust feud

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $304.31.

Apple Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $287.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.77, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.06. 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 company's 50 day moving average price is $261.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.79. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.25 and a 52 week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

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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