DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 120.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,687 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,383 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 1.9% of DeLarme Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. DeLarme Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $315.32. 34,104,441 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 60,736,044. The company’s 50-day moving average is $299.55 and its 200-day moving average is $275.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.50 and a 52-week high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. KGI Securities downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 that occurred 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 transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new lawsuit against OpenAI could help protect its hardware roadmap and reinforce its control over proprietary technology, which may support its long-term competitive position. Reuters: Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines around Apple’s expanded multi-year chip deal with Broadcom continue to boost sentiment, since the agreement strengthens Apple’s supply chain, supports U.S. manufacturing, and deepens its custom silicon strategy. Yahoo Finance: Apple Secures Largest Ever US Chip Deal With Broadcom For $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also named among approved U.S. companies eligible for license-free exports under eased UAE trade rules, which is supportive for international operations but not clearly a near-term stock catalyst. Quiver Quant: U.S. eases export controls on UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, suggesting today’s move is being driven more by news flow than by a shift in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit also highlights that Apple’s relationship with a major AI player has soured, adding uncertainty around future AI partnerships and potentially distracting management with litigation. Financial Times: Apple sues OpenAI, alleging it stole top-secret information

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.