Split Rock Private Trading & Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Split Rock Private Trading & Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 25,564 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,950,000. Apple makes up about 5.6% of Split Rock Private Trading & Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg/Reuters reports Apple will let users pick third‑party AI models across iOS 27 features — a move that turns iPhones into a more open AI platform, increasing services opportunities and ecosystem stickiness. Apple to let users choose rival AI models across iOS 27 features
• Positive Sentiment: Apple confirmed an increased dividend with an upcoming record/ex‑dividend timeline (shareholders of record May 11; payment mid‑May), supporting income-oriented demand. Dear Apple Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for May 11
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is exploring U.S. chip manufacturing partnerships with Intel and Samsung reduce single‑supplier (TSMC) risk — a structural supply‑chain play that investors see as de‑risking long‑term device production. The news also lifted chip peers, signaling investor appetite for the strategy. Apple explores using Intel, Samsung to build main device chips in the US
• Positive Sentiment: Strong product performance: iPhone 17 is reported as the world’s best‑selling smartphone in Q1 and Apple posted a record March quarter (revenue/EPS beats), reinforcing top‑line momentum. iPhone 17 Rules, Becomes World’s Best‑Selling Smartphone
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s R&D spending has crossed 10% of sales as it accelerates AI investment — good for long‑term product leadership but raises near‑term operating leverage and investor focus on ROI. Apple crosses 10% of sales on AI R&D
• Neutral Sentiment: Product lineup changes and temporary pulled Mac Studio/Mac mini high‑memory configs point to supply bottlenecks for Macs — supports demand proof but may keep near‑term sales lumpy. Apple pulls high‑memory Mac mini/Mac Studio configs from store on supply crunch
• Negative Sentiment: Apple agreed to a $250M settlement in lawsuits over delayed/mis‑advertised Siri/AI features — the cost is manageable but highlights execution and marketing risks around AI rollouts and could create modest near‑term cash outflows and reputational headlines. Apple settles lawsuit over late Siri AI features for $250 million
• Negative Sentiment: Legal pressure persists: Apple failed to pause a contempt ruling related to the Epic Games App Store case, keeping antitrust/legal overhangs on the stock. Apple dealt blow by Supreme Court in long‑running antitrust feud

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.31.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 1.2%

Apple stock opened at $287.52 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.25 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $261.55 and a 200 day moving average of $265.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly 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. The business 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 for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.