5 Safe Stocks To Buy For Beginner Investors

2. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number Of Hedge Fund Holders: 134

A multinational technology company that specializes in consumer electronics, software, and online services, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a pandemic winner as demand for its iPhones, MacBooks, and services surged, while the popularity of its iPhone 13 series helped grow its market share last year.

Earlier on January 27, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) released its earnings report for the fiscal first quarter of 2022 in which it reported earnings per share of $2.10, beating market estimates by $0.21. The tech giant also generated quarterly revenues that amounted to $123.95 billion, an increase of 11.22% on a year-over-year basis, surpassing the market consensus by $5.41 billion.

Canaccord analyst T. Michael Walkley reiterated his Buy rating and $200 price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares. The analyst expects the company to report solid Q2 results with potential upside driven by strong iPhone 13 and Mac sales, making the share price more compelling for longer-term investors.

One of the most notable stock picks among long-term and beginner investors, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was found in the public stock portfolios of around 134 hedge funds, compared to 120 funds in the previous quarter. Of these, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway held the largest stake in the company, with a position worth $157.5 billion.

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, mentioned Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:

“Despite these mixed emerging growth results, the ClearBridge Global Growth Strategy outperformed the benchmark due to resilience among our secular and structural growth holdings. The bulk of these contributions came from U.S. mega-cap growth stocks Apple and Microsoft which continued to uniquely act both offensively and defensively as they have through most of the pandemic.”