Apple Inc. $AAPL Holdings Cut by RKL Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• RKL Wealth Management cut its Apple stake by 4.6% in Q1, selling 5,763 shares and ending the quarter with 119,881 shares worth about $30.4 million.
• Several other institutions adjusted their Apple positions, with some adding shares, and overall 67.73% of Apple stock is held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Wall Street remains upbeat on Apple: analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy on average, with a consensus price target of $314.85, while Apple also recently beat earnings expectations and raised its quarterly dividend.

RKL Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,881 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,763 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.7% of RKL Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. RKL Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $30,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 14.5% during the first quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. now owns 9,522 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 136.2% in the first quarter. Alaska Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,239 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,674,000 after acquiring an additional 17,438 shares in the last quarter. Merited Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.5% in the first quarter. Merited Wealth LLC now owns 6,462 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Cane Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Cane Capital Partners LLC now owns 43,149 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,951,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vertrix Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,161,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report 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 target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.85.

More Apple News

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 Price Performance

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 company's 50-day moving average price is $299.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.29. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 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.

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