Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by American Trust

American Trust decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,094 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 11,961 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.3% of American Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. American Trust’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 890.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

More Apple News

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Apple from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James Financial set a $380.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Monday, July 20th. KGI Securities lowered Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 3.5%

AAPL opened at $333.02 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $306.62 and its 200-day moving average is $279.01. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.50 and a 52-week high of $334.99. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10.

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. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors 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 an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.