Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Lessened by Fulton Bank N.A.

Key Points

• Fulton Bank N.A. trimmed its Apple stake by 0.7% in the first quarter, selling 1,949 shares and leaving it with 274,061 shares valued at about $69.6 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with Apple carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and a consensus price target of $314.85.
• Apple recently reported strong quarterly results, beating estimates with $2.01 EPS and $111.18 billion in revenue, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Fulton Bank N.A. decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 274,061 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,949 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.5% of Fulton Bank N.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Fulton Bank N.A.'s holdings in Apple were worth $69,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Apple News Summary

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $315.32 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The company's 50-day moving average price is $299.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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