AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Decreases Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,682,057 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 30,307 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.7% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Apple were worth $426,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth 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. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple 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 sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. 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 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.4%

AAPL opened at $293.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.26 and a 12 month high of $317.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new Siri and broader AI reset is being viewed positively by analysts, with BofA reiterating a Buy rating and saying the WWDC update could strengthen Apple’s AI position and support the stock. BofA Says Apple’s (AAPL) New Siri Strategy Could Strengthen its AI Position
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s reported chip partnership with Intel is being framed as strategically important, with investors focused on supply-chain diversification and a longer-term domestic chip roadmap that could benefit future product cycles. Apple-Intel chip deal makes strategic sense but production is years away
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentaries say Apple shares are building toward a possible breakout, with the stock staying close to its all-time high and forming a fresh buy zone as momentum improves. Apple Stock Polishing New Buy Zone With All-Time High In Sight
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also drawing attention for comments from Eddy Cue about expanding entertainment offerings on Apple TV and in theaters, which supports the long-term services story but is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Apple aims for better and more entertainment offerings, executive Cue says
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still weighing headwinds from rising memory costs and the possibility of iPhone price increases, which could pressure demand if Apple passes through higher component prices. Apple Price Hike Fears May Be Overblown, Says J.P. Morgan
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces legal overhang after a UK tribunal allowed a $4 billion iCloud class-action lawsuit to proceed, adding another potential regulatory and financial risk. Apple supplier Lingyi iTech prices $1.06 billion Hong Kong IPO to tap AI demand

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

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.