Fortune 45 LLC Sells 3,278 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Fortune 45 LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 20.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,111 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,278 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.6% of Fortune 45 LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Fortune 45 LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Investment Co raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Buy and raised its price target to $366 from $260, saying the company is at an operational turning point with AI features and hardware momentum supporting growth. HSBC upgrades Apple to Buy, sees “strong cycle ahead”
• Positive Sentiment: China approved Apple Intelligence for iPhones, and Apple will integrate Alibaba’s Qwen AI model in its China rollout, a key step that could expand Apple’s AI adoption in one of its most important markets. Alibaba and Baidu shares jump in Hong Kong on Apple AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple briefly overtook Nvidia in market value, reinforcing the view that investors are rotating toward Apple’s consumer execution and away from some AI-heavy names. Apple closes in on Nvidia in race for world’s most valuable company
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentaries highlighted Apple’s cash generation, shareholder returns, and robotics/innovation efforts, supporting the bullish “cash flow machine” and diversification narrative. Apple’s Core Business Cash Flow Machine Will Support Innovation and Diversification

Apple Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $333.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $303.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.09. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $201.50 and a one year high of $334.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company 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 firm’s 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 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.3%. 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 currently 13.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.