Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Decreases Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,394,254 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 20,825 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.9% of Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Apple were worth $353,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its position in Apple by 890.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,413,990,000 after buying an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.40.

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.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $333.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $334.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $306.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.01. 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, 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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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