Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Bell Investment Advisors Inc

Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 50.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,248 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,548 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.5% of Bell Investment Advisors Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Bell Investment Advisors Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 890.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after acquiring an additional 37,746,784 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% in 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. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Apple Trading Up 3.3%

AAPL stock opened at $284.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.20. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.26 and a 52 week high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results 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. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

About Apple

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.