Apple Inc. $AAPL is Kanawha Capital Management LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Kanawha Capital Management trimmed its Apple stake by 2% in the fourth quarter, but Apple still remains its 2nd-largest holding, representing about 5.9% of its portfolio.
• Apple continues to draw strong institutional interest overall, with hedge funds and other investors owning 67.73% of the company’s stock.
• Recent headlines were mixed but mostly supportive: Apple reported strong quarterly results, raised its dividend, and saw positive commentary on Services growth, though analysts and regulators still flag valuation and antitrust/AI risks.

Kanawha Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 313,844 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 6,408 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.9% of Kanawha Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Kanawha Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $85,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 20,464.8% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store fraud prevention system blocked $2.2 billion in fraudulent transactions last year, underscoring the strength and scale of its Services ecosystem. Apple uses AI and human reviews to prevent $2.2B in potential App Store fraud
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to Services as a major growth driver for Apple, which could support earnings even as iPhone growth matures. AAPL: Forget the iPhone—Services Will Drive the Next Phase of Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly offering China price cuts for the 618 holiday, a move that could help its sales and market-share push in a competitive market. Apple cutting prices in China for 618 holiday likely to aid market share push: Wedbush
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple received some favorable media attention after Google’s I/O event, with commentary suggesting Google’s AI showcase may have strengthened expectations that Apple will have room to compete aggressively at WWDC. Google I/O 2026 had nothing to say and said it badly ahead of Apple's WWDC
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple is reorganizing its hardware team and pushing more AI-powered features suggest a product-development refresh, but the impact on near-term earnings is unclear. Apple reportedly plans hardware team shake up to ramp up future devices
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc turned cautious on Apple, warning that valuation looks stretched and suggesting the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc Turns Cautious on Apple Stock as Valuation Concerns Grow. It’s Due for Profit-Taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple remains exposed to regulatory and strategic risks, including an Indian court order to cooperate in an App Store antitrust probe and ongoing concerns about AI feature delays. Apple ordered by Indian court to 'fully cooperate' in iPhone App Store antitrust probe

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.74.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $302.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $303.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $267.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.

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