Apple Inc. $AAPL is Ibex Wealth Advisors’ 3rd Largest Position

Ibex Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,630 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.8% of Ibex Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $29,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $365.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.71.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly plans a major overhaul of its Mac lineup to meet demand for AI-powered computers, with new versions of every Mac product expected. That could support future hardware upgrades and help Apple participate more directly in the AI spending cycle. Apple Plans To Overhaul Computers to Meet AI Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is also set to launch a new “Apple Upgrade” device leasing program with Klarna, which could make iPhones, Macs, iPads and Apple Watches easier to finance and potentially lift replacement demand. Apple to launch ‘Upgrade’ device leasing program to spur sales, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators remain constructive on Apple’s long-term momentum, arguing the company’s ecosystem, pricing power and upcoming product cycle still support the stock despite recent volatility. Why Apple (AAPL) is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Samsung’s new foldable launches and rising prices highlight the competitive pressure in premium mobile devices, while also signaling that Apple’s expected entry into foldables is increasingly on investors’ radar. Samsung unveils wider foldable phone, hikes prices as chip costs rise
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains a top-market-cap stock and is trading near peak valuations, which keeps sentiment mixed heading into earnings and makes the shares more sensitive to any disappointment. Is Apple stock overvalued? Here’s what AlphaSpace valuation metrics say.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple lost a key court bid in its Masimo dispute, leaving a $634 million Apple Watch patent verdict in place. That legal overhang is a direct negative for sentiment because it preserves a costly judgment and keeps the litigation risk alive. Apple Fails to Overturn $634 Million Masimo Verdict
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors and analysts are warning that Apple’s stock has become expensive after a strong run, which is pressuring the shares as traders lock in gains ahead of earnings. The Risk in Apple’s Stock That Nobody Is Talking About

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $325.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.41, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $305.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.27. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $334.99. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

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.