Trust Investment Advisors Lowers Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Trust Investment Advisors trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,023 shares during the period. Apple makes up 9.8% of Trust Investment Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $16,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Apple by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple 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 transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $315.32 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.50 and a 52 week high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.85.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new lawsuit against OpenAI could help protect its hardware roadmap and reinforce its control over proprietary technology, which may support its long-term competitive position. Reuters: Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines around Apple’s expanded multi-year chip deal with Broadcom continue to boost sentiment, since the agreement strengthens Apple’s supply chain, supports U.S. manufacturing, and deepens its custom silicon strategy. Yahoo Finance: Apple Secures Largest Ever US Chip Deal With Broadcom For $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also named among approved U.S. companies eligible for license-free exports under eased UAE trade rules, which is supportive for international operations but not clearly a near-term stock catalyst. Quiver Quant: U.S. eases export controls on UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, suggesting today’s move is being driven more by news flow than by a shift in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit also highlights that Apple’s relationship with a major AI player has soured, adding uncertainty around future AI partnerships and potentially distracting management with litigation. Financial Times: Apple sues OpenAI, alleging it stole top-secret information

Apple Company 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.