Osprey Private Wealth LLC Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Osprey Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 55.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,633 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,173 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 2.2% of Osprey Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Osprey Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in Apple by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,253 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Income Insurance Ltd purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $12,287,000. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its position in Apple by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 44,074 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,982,000 after buying an additional 3,869 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Rock Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $7,965,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 370,978 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $100,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 1.6%

AAPL opened at $310.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $279.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.84. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $195.07 and a 12 month high of $316.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. 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 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $312.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts reiterated bullish views on Apple ahead of WWDC, including Goldman Sachs keeping a Buy rating with a $340 target and Evercore ISI lifting its target to $365, citing Apple’s AI roadmap, ecosystem strength, and services growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor expectations remain high that Apple will unveil major AI updates at WWDC, especially a rebuilt Siri and deeper Apple Intelligence features, which could extend the stock’s recent rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports suggest Apple may expand its ecosystem with a native bill-splitting/payment feature in iOS, which could deepen user engagement and strengthen its services revenue stream. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around Apple’s stock has been upbeat, with articles highlighting outperformance versus the S&P 500 and strong demand for iPhones and Macs ahead of the conference. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS said not to expect fireworks from WWDC and kept a Neutral rating, suggesting the event may not deliver a near-term stock catalyst if announcements disappoint. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent gains and all-time high have also prompted valuation concerns, with some analysts and commentators warning the shares may already price in a lot of good news. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Apple agreed to submit India business financials in an antitrust case, keeping regulatory risk in focus and raising the possibility of penalties. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive headlines from Nvidia, Walmart, and others show mounting pressure on parts of Apple’s ecosystem, including PCs and payments, which could weigh on sentiment if rivals gain traction. Article Title

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.