Churchill Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $17.15 Million Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Churchill Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 63,093 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $17,152,000. Apple accounts for about 5.2% of Churchill Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. American Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 3.7% during the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $301.54 on Tuesday. 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 $195.07 and a 1 year high of $317.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $282.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.63. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last 90 days. 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 Siri AI and broader Apple Intelligence rollout could improve user engagement, strengthen the ecosystem, and support longer-term monetization across its large installed base. Apple introduces Siri AI, a profoundly more capable and personal assistant
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush and other bullish analysts said the WWDC announcements could unlock significant AI-driven upside, with one note calling the event a potential catalyst for meaningful monetization across Apple’s installed base. AI Could Add $75-$100 to Apple Stock (AAPL), Says Top Wedbush Analyst after WWDC Event
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple expanded developer tools and AI frameworks, including cheaper access to its Foundation Models for smaller developers, which may help grow the ecosystem but is unlikely to move near-term earnings immediately. Apple bets cheaper AI will woo small developers
• Negative Sentiment: The market’s reaction suggests investors wanted a bigger AI breakthrough; several reports said Apple shares faded after the announcements as the new platform was seen as underwhelming versus high expectations. Apple (AAPL) Stock Slides after New AI Platform Underwhelms
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is still being viewed as late to AI, and some coverage framed WWDC as catch-up rather than a clear leadership moment, raising concerns that the announcements may not be enough to drive a new wave of hardware upgrades right away. Apple plays catch-up at WWDC

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.82.

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.