Morse Asset Management Inc Purchases 2,677 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,335 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,677 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.7% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its holdings in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $315.20 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $195.07 and a one year high of $315.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.31.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of WWDC, with Apple expected to unveil key AI features that could improve Siri and strengthen its software ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s MacBook Neo is reportedly gaining traction with new buyers, suggesting the company is still expanding its hardware appeal beyond its core customer base. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been lifting targets on AAPL ahead of WWDC, reflecting confidence that Apple’s AI strategy and software roadmap could reaccelerate growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: New Apple Wallet bill-splitting and payment-request features may help deepen engagement, but the immediate stock impact is less clear because the move is incremental rather than transformative. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is being discussed as a potentially overvalued stock after its recent rally, which could limit upside if WWDC disappoints expectations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Dell and Nvidia have intensified competition in PCs and laptops, pressuring Apple’s positioning in hardware categories like the MacBook Neo. Article Title

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.