Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Lifted by Farmers National Bank

Farmers National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,778 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,767 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 6.1% of Farmers National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Farmers National Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $27,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Orion Investment Co boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is becoming more optimistic about Apple’s new Siri and AI strategy after the post-WWDC selloff, suggesting investors may be overreacting to near-term skepticism. After an Initial Panic, Wall Street’s Leaning Into Apple’s New Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple has agreed to partner with Intel to design and manufacture chips in the U.S. are being viewed as a supply-chain diversification win and a long-term catalyst for Apple’s hardware roadmap. Apple’s Intel Deal Arrives at the Right Time for Its Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook’s comments about higher memory costs and upcoming price increases are being interpreted by some analysts as supportive of Apple’s earnings power, since price hikes could help offset component inflation. Apple: Empirical Evidence Suggests Upcoming Price Hikes Will Boost Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s TV and streaming strategy is drawing attention, but the discussion appears more explanatory than immediately material to the stock. Apple Explains TV Library Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks comparison of NVIDIA and Apple highlights Apple’s lower valuation and services strength, reinforcing the stock’s defensive appeal without changing the near-term setup. NVIDIA vs. Apple: Which Tech Titan Is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Britain’s competition tribunal approved a £3 billion class action over iCloud fees, adding a meaningful legal overhang and potential financial liability for Apple. UK tribunal gives go ahead for $4 billion lawsuit against Apple over iCloud services
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces reputational risk after closing its first unionized U.S. store, with the union accusing the company of retaliation. Apple Just Closed Its First Unionized U.S. Store
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say Apple is forcing price increases on hardware because memory and chip costs are rising, which could pressure demand if consumers push back. Memory’s price surge threatens Apple’s ‘magic formula’ — and the economy

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

Apple Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $294.98 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.26 and a twelve month high of $317.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $291.15 and a 200 day moving average of $273.06. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given 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 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

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.