AE Wealth Management LLC Buys 140,705 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,150,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 140,705 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.4% of AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $584,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. American Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,934,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $292.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.46 and a 12 month high of $294.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $262.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.47.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 12.58%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest earnings showed record-like strength, with revenue and EPS beating estimates and iPhone sales surging, reinforcing confidence in the company’s core business and margin profile.
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is being viewed more favorably on AI and product innovation, with analysts and commentators highlighting a coming WWDC catalyst, deeper AI integration, and potential new growth from wearables, Vision products, and smart glasses.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple may use Intel for some chip production could be seen as strategically positive because it reduces reliance on a single supplier and may improve long-term supply-chain resilience. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s pricing power remains intact, as it reportedly raised the Mac mini’s starting price while still seeing strong demand and backorders, suggesting healthy interest in its hardware lineup.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple will pay its quarterly dividend today, which supports the stock’s income appeal but is not likely a major near-term share-price driver.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Arthur Levinson’s $71 million stock sale may temper enthusiasm a bit, since insider selling near highs can signal management caution or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns that Apple’s stock may be getting stretched after its run-up, and rising component costs could pressure future margins if consumer hardware pricing becomes harder to manage.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% 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 three months, insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.