Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 24.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,058 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 20,573 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.9% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $26,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in Apple by 890.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after purchasing an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 20,464.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $327.40.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford said it will embed Apple Maps into upcoming EVs, expanding Apple’s software reach and reinforcing the value of its ecosystem. Ford Embeds Apple Maps Directly into Upcoming EVs
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Apple and reiterated an Outperform rating, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Apple as outperforming the broader market, supported by strong ratings and a favorable chart setup ahead of earnings. Why is Apple stock outperforming the broader market?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also the subject of discussion around upcoming product launches, AI features, and a possible device-leasing program, which could support demand but remain unconfirmed or longer-term in nature.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted concerns that Apple’s valuation is stretched heading into earnings, and insider sales plus short-interest chatter may temper enthusiasm if results disappoint.

Apple Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of AAPL opened at $333.02 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $334.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $306.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.01. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

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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