Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC Invests $6.56 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 26,185 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,557,000. Apple makes up about 2.2% of Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.1% in the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 108.3% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,880,000 after purchasing an additional 18,188 shares during the period. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $105,482,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,915,172,000 after purchasing an additional 214,215 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 7.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $308.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $309.51 and its 200 day moving average is $281.45. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.50 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 142.29%. Apple’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (down from $370.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $276.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported record June-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and diluted EPS of $2.02, exceeding Wall Street expectations. iPhone revenue rose 22% to $54.3 billion, while Mac revenue increased 29% to $10.4 billion. Apple reports third quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s large installed base, strong hardware demand and potential consumer-AI opportunities remain long-term supports. Some analysts remain bullish: TD Cowen raised its price target to $400, while other firms maintained Buy or Overweight ratings despite trimming estimates. Analyst raises Apple price target
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, payable August 13 to shareholders of record August 10. Apple also continues to emphasize an AI strategy that requires less capital spending than the infrastructure-heavy approach used by some peers. Apple Q3 financial results

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.