Stephens Inc. AR Sells 20,853 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR reduced its Apple stake by 2.5% in the first quarter, selling 20,853 shares and leaving it with 816,725 shares worth about $207.9 million. Apple remained its second-largest holding and made up 2.6% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Apple posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $2.01 versus the $1.95 estimate and revenue of $111.18 billion, both ahead of expectations. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 8.76.
• The stock has continued to draw bullish sentiment from analysts and investors, with recent price targets raised by firms including Bank of America and TD Cowen. Apple also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27, though insider sales were reported during the period.

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 816,725 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 20,853 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.6% of Stephens Inc. AR's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Apple were worth $207,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Overbrook Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 14.1% during the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,189,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 108.3% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,880,000 after buying an additional 18,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $105,482,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $333.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.50 and a 1-year high of $334.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $303.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.09.

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 (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 firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Apple Inc. NASDAQ: AAPL to Buy and raised its price target to $366 from $260, saying the company is at an operational turning point with AI features and hardware momentum supporting growth. HSBC upgrades Apple to Buy, sees "strong cycle ahead"
• Positive Sentiment: China approved Apple Intelligence for iPhones, and Apple will integrate Alibaba’s Qwen AI model in its China rollout, a key step that could expand Apple’s AI adoption in one of its most important markets. Alibaba and Baidu shares jump in Hong Kong on Apple AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple briefly overtook Nvidia in market value, reinforcing the view that investors are rotating toward Apple’s consumer execution and away from some AI-heavy names. Apple closes in on Nvidia in race for world's most valuable company
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentaries highlighted Apple’s cash generation, shareholder returns, and robotics/innovation efforts, supporting the bullish “cash flow machine” and diversification narrative. Apple’s Core Business Cash Flow Machine Will Support Innovation and Diversification

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $318.43.

About Apple

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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