Strategic Advisory Partners LLC Makes New $1.23 Million Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Strategic Advisory Partners LLC opened a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter, buying 4,531 shares worth about $1.23 million. Apple now represents about 1.0% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 8th-largest holding.
• Apple continues to attract institutional interest, with several other investors also adding to or initiating stakes; overall, 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• The article highlights mixed but mostly positive fundamentals: Apple beat quarterly earnings expectations, raised its dividend, and analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $314.59.

Strategic Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,232,000. Apple accounts for approximately 1.0% of Strategic Advisory Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned price increases could protect margins as memory and storage costs rise, and Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of upcoming AI-focused devices and a second-generation iPhone Air support confidence in Apple’s product pipeline and longer-term growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s planned price hikes may help earnings, but they could also pressure demand if consumers balk at higher handset prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple opening Brazil’s App Store to alternative marketplaces reduces regulatory friction there, but it also underscores ongoing global platform scrutiny. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $298.01 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's fifty day moving average is $289.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.59.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.