GuidedMoney LLC Invests $723,000 in Apple Inc. $AAPL

GuidedMoney LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,659 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $723,000. Apple comprises 0.4% of GuidedMoney LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 890.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $298.01 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.85 and a twelve month high of $317.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $289.73 and a 200 day moving average of $272.98. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction 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 have sold a total of 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s planned price increases could protect margins as memory and storage costs rise, and Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating with a $380 target, citing Apple’s pricing power and supply-chain strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of upcoming AI-focused devices and a second-generation iPhone Air support confidence in Apple’s product pipeline and longer-term growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s planned price hikes may help earnings, but they could also pressure demand if consumers balk at higher handset prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple opening Brazil’s App Store to alternative marketplaces reduces regulatory friction there, but it also underscores ongoing global platform scrutiny. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Maxim Group reaffirmed 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.59.

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.