Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Cut by Marco Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Marco Investment Management LLC trimmed its Apple stake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,658 shares and leaving it with 268,988 shares valued at about $73.1 million.
• Apple continues to draw bullish analyst attention ahead of WWDC, with firms like Goldman Sachs and Evercore citing its AI roadmap, ecosystem strength, and services growth. Several reports also suggest investors are expecting major AI-related upgrades, including a rebuilt Siri.
• Despite the optimism, Apple faces some valuation and regulatory concerns, including warnings that the stock may already reflect much of the good news and Reuters reporting that Apple agreed to submit India business financials in an antitrust case.

Marco Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 268,988 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,658 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.5% of Marco Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Marco Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $73,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. American Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Avant Capital LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts reiterated bullish views on Apple ahead of WWDC, including Goldman Sachs keeping a Buy rating with a $340 target and Evercore ISI lifting its target to $365, citing Apple’s AI roadmap, ecosystem strength, and services growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor expectations remain high that Apple will unveil major AI updates at WWDC, especially a rebuilt Siri and deeper Apple Intelligence features, which could extend the stock’s recent rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports suggest Apple may expand its ecosystem with a native bill-splitting/payment feature in iOS, which could deepen user engagement and strengthen its services revenue stream. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around Apple’s stock has been upbeat, with articles highlighting outperformance versus the S&P 500 and strong demand for iPhones and Macs ahead of the conference. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS said not to expect fireworks from WWDC and kept a Neutral rating, suggesting the event may not deliver a near-term stock catalyst if announcements disappoint. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent gains and all-time high have also prompted valuation concerns, with some analysts and commentators warning the shares may already price in a lot of good news. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Apple agreed to submit India business financials in an antitrust case, keeping regulatory risk in focus and raising the possibility of penalties. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive headlines from Nvidia, Walmart, and others show mounting pressure on parts of Apple’s ecosystem, including PCs and payments, which could weigh on sentiment if rivals gain traction. Article Title

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company'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 transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $312.82.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $310.26 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $279.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.84. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $195.07 and a one year high of $316.94.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

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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