Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Raises Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 24.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,058 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 20,573 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 2.9% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $26,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in 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 purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $333.02 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.50 and a 12 month high of $334.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $279.01.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.40.

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.