Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Sells 6,500 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 816,400 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,500 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 7.4% of Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $221,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in Apple by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $291.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $285.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $195.07 and a 52-week high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Services business posted record revenue in the fiscal second quarter, supported by ecosystem growth, AI-related updates, and its huge installed device base. Apple Continues to Expand Services Business: What’s the Path Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators said Apple still has strong fundamentals, including a solid balance sheet, loyal customer base, and products investors continue to love, which supports the long-term bull case. Jim Cramer on Apple: “It Still Has Products We All Love”
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Apple, signaling expectations for steady profit growth over the next two fiscal years. Apple earnings estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC announcements showed a clearer AI roadmap, including next-generation Siri features and device software updates, but the market appears to be waiting for stronger evidence that these changes will drive meaningful revenue growth. Apple Unveils Siri AI. Here’s Why It’s Not Impressing Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggested Apple’s AI launch could help the stock over time, but it may take more than Siri upgrades alone to restore investor enthusiasm. Apple Just Gave Investors a Glimpse of Is AI Future at WWDC. It May Take More to Revive AAPL Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried Apple’s AI ambitions are colliding with a memory-cost crunch, creating pricing pressure that could weigh on margins. Apple Faces a No-Win Pricing Dilemma. Should Investors Be Worried?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say the market was disappointed that Apple’s Siri AI reveal did not feel like a big enough breakthrough to justify a sharper rerating of the stock. Apple’s AI News Underwhelms. Siri AI Release Concerns Persist.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.59.

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.