Osbon Capital Management LLC Takes $1.43 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,241 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,000. Apple makes up approximately 1.3% of Osbon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th 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. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is becoming more optimistic about Apple’s new Siri and AI strategy after the post-WWDC selloff, suggesting investors may be overreacting to near-term skepticism. After an Initial Panic, Wall Street’s Leaning Into Apple’s New Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple has agreed to partner with Intel to design and manufacture chips in the U.S. are being viewed as a supply-chain diversification win and a long-term catalyst for Apple’s hardware roadmap. Apple’s Intel Deal Arrives at the Right Time for Its Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook’s comments about higher memory costs and upcoming price increases are being interpreted by some analysts as supportive of Apple’s earnings power, since price hikes could help offset component inflation. Apple: Empirical Evidence Suggests Upcoming Price Hikes Will Boost Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s TV and streaming strategy is drawing attention, but the discussion appears more explanatory than immediately material to the stock. Apple Explains TV Library Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks comparison of NVIDIA and Apple highlights Apple’s lower valuation and services strength, reinforcing the stock’s defensive appeal without changing the near-term setup. NVIDIA vs. Apple: Which Tech Titan Is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Britain’s competition tribunal approved a £3 billion class action over iCloud fees, adding a meaningful legal overhang and potential financial liability for Apple. UK tribunal gives go ahead for $4 billion lawsuit against Apple over iCloud services
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces reputational risk after closing its first unionized U.S. store, with the union accusing the company of retaliation. Apple Just Closed Its First Unionized U.S. Store
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say Apple is forcing price increases on hardware because memory and chip costs are rising, which could pressure demand if consumers push back. Memory’s price surge threatens Apple’s ‘magic formula’ — and the economy

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $294.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $291.15 and its 200 day moving average is $273.06. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $199.26 and a one year high of $317.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.