Apple Inc. $AAPL is Carnegie Investment Counsel’s 2nd Largest Position

Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 664,385 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 21,257 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.3% of Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Apple were worth $168,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 2.0% in the first quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Investment Co lifted its position in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $333.02 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $306.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $279.09. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $334.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford said it will embed Apple Maps into upcoming EVs, expanding Apple’s software reach and reinforcing the value of its ecosystem. Ford Embeds Apple Maps Directly into Upcoming EVs
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Apple and reiterated an Outperform rating, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Apple as outperforming the broader market, supported by strong ratings and a favorable chart setup ahead of earnings. Why is Apple stock outperforming the broader market?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also the subject of discussion around upcoming product launches, AI features, and a possible device-leasing program, which could support demand but remain unconfirmed or longer-term in nature.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted concerns that Apple’s valuation is stretched heading into earnings, and insider sales plus short-interest chatter may temper enthusiasm if results disappoint.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price target on Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $364.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.40.

Apple 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.