Independent Financial Group LLC Invests $80.61 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 317,621 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $80,609,000. Apple makes up approximately 2.4% of Independent Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported record June-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and diluted EPS of $2.02, exceeding Wall Street expectations. iPhone revenue rose 22% to $54.3 billion, while Mac revenue increased 29% to $10.4 billion. Apple reports third quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s large installed base, strong hardware demand and potential consumer-AI opportunities remain long-term supports. Some analysts remain bullish: TD Cowen raised its price target to $400, while other firms maintained Buy or Overweight ratings despite trimming estimates. Analyst raises Apple price target
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, payable August 13 to shareholders of record August 10. Apple also continues to emphasize an AI strategy that requires less capital spending than the infrastructure-heavy approach used by some peers. Apple Q3 financial results

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Apple from $276.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.60.

Apple Trading Down 7.4%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $308.91 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $309.51 and a 200 day moving average of $281.45. 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 $201.50 and a 1-year high of $344.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 142.29% and a net margin of 27.62%.The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

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.