Bravias Capital Group LLC Reduces Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Bravias Capital Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 22.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,738 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,186 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.3% of Bravias Capital Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Bravias Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $333.74 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.50 and a 52 week high of $334.99. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $303.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.43.

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.