Washington Trust Bank Lowers Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Washington Trust Bank lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 261,659 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 12,414 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 4.9% of Washington Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $66,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its position in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 41.0% during the second quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Maxim Group raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $239.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.41.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 4.1%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $270.05 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.43.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.15%.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong iPhone 17 demand drove better-than-expected Q1 results and margin expansion, supporting upgrades and a more bullish outlook for revenue and profitability. The iPhone 17 Changed Everything For Apple – See China (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Big banks reiterated bullish calls (Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan) citing continued iPhone 17 strength — analyst support is lifting sentiment and contributed to price-target increases. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Bullish on Apple Inc. (AAPL) on Strong iPhone 17 Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages raised price targets and upgraded Apple after the quarter, adding buy-side momentum and helping push the stock higher. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $315.00
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI launched a Codex coding-assistant app for Apple computers, highlighting tighter AI app integration in the Mac ecosystem and potential demand/support for Mac hardware and services. OpenAI Unveils Codex App for Use with Apple (AAPL) Computers
• Positive Sentiment: Report that Apple acquired Israeli AI/audio startup Q.ai (≈$2B) strengthens the company’s AI content/capability pipeline and supports the AI narrative. Apple Inc. (AAPL) Acquires Israeli Startup Q.ai For Approximately $2 Billion: Report
• Neutral Sentiment: T. Rowe Price launched an active Innovation Leaders ETF that lists Apple as a core holding — potential incremental passive/active inflows but not immediate earnings impact. Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft Anchor T. Rowe Price’s New Active ETF Targeting Innovators
• Neutral Sentiment: India’s policy allowing foreign-funded equipment for contract manufacturers is a structural win for Apple’s India build-out and long-term cost/scale — supports supply diversification. India hands Apple a win by letting foreign firms fund equipment for manufacturers
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in the feed are effectively zero/erroneous and aren’t influencing the move; no clear short-squeeze signal from this data. (Source: short-interest entry)
• Negative Sentiment: Supply risk: TSMC’s capacity shift toward AI chips (Nvidia demand) could squeeze Apple’s wafer allocations and exacerbate chip constraints, a risk to near-term production and inventory. Nvidia’s AI Takeover Leaves Apple Fighting For Supply
• Negative Sentiment: Talent and margin pressure: reports of AI researcher departures and commentary that rising AI-driven parts demand could lift component costs create medium-term execution and margin risks. Apple Loses More AI Researchers to Meta and Google The AI Boom Is Coming for Apple’s Profit Margins

About Apple

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.