Praxis Capital Management LLC Takes $861,000 Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Praxis Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,166 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $861,000. Apple accounts for about 3.1% of Praxis Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $307.34 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $195.07 and a 12 month high of $316.94. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $281.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.39. The firm has a market cap of $4.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 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 given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC keynote is expected to highlight a revamped Siri, Apple Intelligence updates, and a broader AI strategy, which could act as a near-term catalyst if the company shows meaningful progress. Will WWDC Drive Apple Stock (AAPL) Higher? Here’s What Analysts Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with Citi reiterating a Buy and Wedbush reaffirming Outperform with a $400 target, citing Apple’s AI inflection point and resilient iPhone fundamentals. Asiya Merchant Reiterates Buy on Apple, Citing AI Strategy Inflection and Resilient iPhone Fundamentals
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store update showed $1.4 trillion in sales and billings last year, reinforcing the scale of its Services ecosystem even as most transactions did not carry a commission. Apple touts $1.4 trillion in App Store billings and sales, 90% without a commission
• Positive Sentiment: Foxconn raised its second-quarter outlook, a constructive signal for Apple’s supply chain and iPhone demand, since Foxconn is Apple’s top iPhone assembler. Taiwan’s Foxconn raises guidance for second-quarter outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple may rely on Google cloud infrastructure and Nvidia chips to power a redesigned Siri suggest the company is prioritizing speed to market, but they also underscore that Apple is leaning on outside partners for its AI push. Apple Taps Google to Prep Siri For September Revamp
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns that Apple still faces a high bar to justify its valuation, and UBS noted decelerating App Store growth could pressure the Services growth story if AI execution disappoints. Investors Should Worry About Apple’s (AAPL) Decelerating App Store Growth, Says UBS

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.82.

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.