Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC Sells 2,038 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC reduced its Apple stake by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,038 shares and leaving it with 34,771 shares worth about $9.45 million.
• Large institutional investors remain heavily invested in Apple, with firms like Vanguard, State Street, and Geode increasing holdings; overall, 67.73% of Apple stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Apple continues to draw bullish analyst coverage, with several firms reaffirming buy ratings and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and average target price of $314.59.

Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,771 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,038 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.8% of Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $9,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,659,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.59.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $289.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.98. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.85 and a 12 month high of $317.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple News Roundup

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

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.

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