Apple Inc. $AAPL is Choate Investment Advisors’ 5th Largest Position

Choate Investment Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 623,374 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,930 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.3% of Choate Investment Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $169,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $301.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.07 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $312.82.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new Siri AI and broader Apple Intelligence rollout could improve user engagement, strengthen the ecosystem, and support longer-term monetization across its large installed base. Apple introduces Siri AI, a profoundly more capable and personal assistant
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush and other bullish analysts said the WWDC announcements could unlock significant AI-driven upside, with one note calling the event a potential catalyst for meaningful monetization across Apple’s installed base. AI Could Add $75-$100 to Apple Stock (AAPL), Says Top Wedbush Analyst after WWDC Event
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple expanded developer tools and AI frameworks, including cheaper access to its Foundation Models for smaller developers, which may help grow the ecosystem but is unlikely to move near-term earnings immediately. Apple bets cheaper AI will woo small developers
• Negative Sentiment: The market’s reaction suggests investors wanted a bigger AI breakthrough; several reports said Apple shares faded after the announcements as the new platform was seen as underwhelming versus high expectations. Apple (AAPL) Stock Slides after New AI Platform Underwhelms
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is still being viewed as late to AI, and some coverage framed WWDC as catch-up rather than a clear leadership moment, raising concerns that the announcements may not be enough to drive a new wave of hardware upgrades right away. Apple plays catch-up at WWDC

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.