GuidedMoney LLC Buys Shares of 2,659 Apple Inc. $AAPL

GuidedMoney LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,659 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $723,000. Apple comprises about 0.4% of GuidedMoney LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $88,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $289.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.98. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $196.85 and a one year high of $317.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.59.

Apple Company 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.