Pacific Sage Partners LLC Increases Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Pacific Sage Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 1.3% of Pacific Sage Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Pacific Sage Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple 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. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $308.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $295.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.85. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $201.50 and a one year high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its 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 net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple plans at least five new iPhone models through early 2027, including a stronger foldable iPhone push, have reinforced expectations for a fresh product cycle and a longer growth runway. Apple plans five new iPhones through 2027, eyes Chinese-made chips amid foldable push, reports say
• Positive Sentiment: Apple also appears to be benefiting from investor optimism that it can navigate the memory-chip shortage and secure supply, including possible deals with lower-cost Chinese chipmakers, which could help protect future production. Apple negotiates with blacklisted Chinese chipmakers amid AI-driven memory crunch
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces said Apple is holding up better than the broader tech sector, with traders viewing recent weakness as a buying opportunity and analysts still pointing to solid upside potential. Apple’s Aggressive Price Hikes Raise Eyebrows As Wall Street Links AI Chip Shortages To Inflation Pressure
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent price hikes on Macs and iPads are being interpreted two ways: as a sign of inflationary component costs, but also as a margin-protection move that may not hurt demand as much as feared. Jim Cramer’s Latest Thought on Apple Inc. (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s insider-selling activity and mixed institutional positioning are adding caution, but they are not the main driver of the stock today. Apple Stock (AAPL) Opinions on Recent Price Hikes and Analyst Views
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage continues to flag pressure on Apple’s margins and demand if higher component costs force more price increases, which could weigh on sentiment over time. Is Apple stock in trouble? Rising costs threaten margins, demand

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.85.

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.