Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock: Royal Fund Management LLC Raises Holdings

Royal Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,666 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,744 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.2% of Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prospect Hill Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $146,370,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at $168,646,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at $482,388,000. Satovsky Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at $16,064,000. Finally, Gouws Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 136.9% in the third quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 37,504 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,490,000 after acquiring an additional 21,676 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Recent Apple Headlines

Investors following AAPL have been watching these headlines:

• 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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Timothy Cook sold 191,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This trade represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.01, for a total value of $796,491.99. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 39,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,145,271.93. This trade represents a 5.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 290,212 shares of company stock worth $96,639,685. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim set a $400.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. KeyCorp reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Apple from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Two research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $347.11.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $355.63 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $337.88 and its 200-day moving average is $300.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $5.17 trillion, a P/E 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The business had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.04%.

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.