Kennebec Savings Bank Sells 1,860 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Kennebec Savings Bank reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,991 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,860 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 7.3% of Kennebec Savings Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First City Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,981 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,548,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the period. Wealth Management Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 51,104 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,968,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. Buffalo Business & Estate Services Ltd. lifted its stake in Apple by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Buffalo Business & Estate Services Ltd. now owns 139,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC now owns 29,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,426,000 after purchasing an additional 10,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 21.0% during the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 150,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $38,076,000 after purchasing an additional 26,053 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) 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. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.85.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $284.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $292.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.17. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $199.26 and a one year high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 company 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 company’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.