Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,829 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,127 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.1% of Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in 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 position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 firm’s 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 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 2.0%

AAPL stock opened at $293.25 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $294.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $261.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

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.