Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Acquired by MLP3 LLC

MLP3 LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 22.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,567 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.3% of MLP3 LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. MLP3 LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 630,662,494 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $182,897,769,000 after buying an additional 28,321,085 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at $30,443,242,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Apple by 23.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,547,637,000 after acquiring an additional 13,780,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $355.63 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.06. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.42 and a twelve month high of $355.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 27.60% and a return on equity of 125.35%. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.04%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total transaction of $8,460,671.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,832,236.98. The trade was a 29.90% 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 this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total value of $480,309.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,051,831.95. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 290,212 shares of company stock valued at $96,639,685. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Apple News

Investors following AAPL have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: China Renaissance upgraded Apple to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $425, citing growth potential from Apple’s first foldable iPhone. The bullish outlook helped support shares. Analyst raises Apple price target to $425
• Positive Sentiment: Reports point to strong iPhone demand and a record quarterly revenue result, while the foldable iPhone could provide a new growth opportunity. A faster Siri AI roadmap may also strengthen Apple’s longer-term product story.
• Neutral Sentiment: Google is rolling out Gemini Live on Apple CarPlay, bringing another conversational AI option to iPhone users’ cars. This adds functionality to the CarPlay platform, though it also highlights competition for Apple’s own assistant. Google brings Gemini Live to Apple CarPlay

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Argus lifted their price objective on Apple from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $347.11.

About Apple

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS. The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.