Balentine LLC Buys 18,322 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Balentine LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 36.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 69,165 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,322 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 0.7% of Balentine LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Apple by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $123,358,461,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224,229 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $72,506,336,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942,638 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $306.31 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $195.07 and a 12 month high of $315.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $276.58 and its 200-day moving average is $270.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given 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 yield of 0.4%. 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 related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.31.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly preparing an iPhone Wallet feature that could split bills from a receipt, assign items to different people, and generate payment requests through Apple Cash. That would strengthen Apple’s payments ecosystem and could help Wallet compete more directly with Venmo and Cash App. Apple Set to Accelerate Wallet War With Automated Bill Splitting
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been raising price targets ahead of WWDC, betting that Apple’s Siri and broader AI upgrades could be a catalyst for the shares if the company shows meaningful progress at its developer event. Apple (AAPL) Stock Gains Momentum as Analysts Boost Targets Before WWDC Siri Unveiling
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles framed Apple as an attractive AI-related stock, reflecting ongoing investor interest in Apple’s product cycle, services growth, and potential AI-driven refreshes. Apple Inc. (AAPL): One of the Promising Stocks to Buy According to AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple teased WWDC 2026 with a new “All Systems Glow” tagline and wallpapers, which points to an upcoming software announcement but does not by itself change fundamentals. All Systems Glow: Apple Teases WWDC 2026 With New Tagline, Playlist, Wallpapers
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly targeting a late-2027 launch for smart glasses, signaling a longer AI development timeline; that may support the long-term story, but it also suggests Apple’s next major wearable is still far away. Apple reportedly targeting 2027 launch for smart glasses amid AI refinement efforts
• Negative Sentiment: Apple fell on reports that the global smartphone market is nearing a record shipment decline, reinforcing worries about slower iPhone demand and a softer handset upgrade cycle. Apple Stock (AAPL) Falls as Global Smartphone Market Approaches Record Shipment Drop
• Negative Sentiment: Dell’s new XPS 13 laptop is drawing attention as a direct rival to Apple’s MacBook Neo, adding to competitive pressure in PCs and reminding investors that Apple faces rivals across multiple hardware categories. Dell Stock Extends Massive Rally on Morgan Stanley Upgrade, New Apple-Rivaling Laptop

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.