TBH Global Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• TBH Global Asset Management increased its Apple stake by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 31,168 shares to bring its total to 243,368 shares worth about $66.2 million. Apple is now the fund’s largest holding, making up 11.3% of its portfolio.
• Institutional ownership of Apple remains very high, with several other large funds also boosting positions. The article notes that 67.73% of Apple stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on Apple, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.74. Recent earnings also beat expectations, as Apple reported $2.01 EPS and $111.18 billion in revenue for the quarter.

TBH Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 243,368 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 31,168 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 11.3% of TBH Global Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. TBH Global Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $66,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group set a $296.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $330.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

Key Stories Impacting 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 Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $308.82 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $269.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.63. The stock has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.46 and a fifty-two week high of $311.40. 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 earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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