First Merchants Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

First Merchants Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 201,048 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,430 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.9% of First Merchants Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $51,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd 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 stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Orion Investment Co boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,902,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,934,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Apple

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Apple Stock Up 3.3%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $284.29 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $199.26 and a one year high of $317.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $292.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 13.06%.

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.