Wick Capital Partners LLC Has $31,000 Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Wick Capital Partners cut its Apple stake by 40.4% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 11,265 shares valued at about $31,000.
• Apple continues to draw strong institutional interest, with about 67.73% of shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds despite some recent selling activity.
• Wall Street remains broadly upbeat on Apple, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating, an average price target of $314.59, and recent reports highlighting pricing power, AI-related product plans, and strong quarterly earnings.

Wick Capital Partners LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 40.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,265 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 7,639 shares during the quarter. Wick Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $31,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $88,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.59.

Apple Stock Performance

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

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is 13.06%.

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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