Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Inspire Trust Co. N.A.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,586 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 4,081 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.6% of Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s holdings in Apple were worth $15,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $290.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.79. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $195.07 and a 1-year high of $317.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion during 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%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Investors were disappointed that Siri’s AI overhaul still appears behind rivals, with launch timing stretching into later this year and some features limited to the U.S. at first. Apple shares slide after big Siri AI reveal
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warned that Apple is relying on Google Gemini/Nvidia infrastructure for parts of its advanced AI stack, raising questions about how much of the AI value capture Apple keeps in-house. Apple failed to make its AI tool to comply to EU regulations, EU Commission says
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley said the new Siri features may be held back by older iPhones, limiting the near-term upgrade cycle and the addressable installed base. Apple's AI Siri will be held back by aging devices, Morgan Stanley says

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson upped their target price on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Maxim Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.59.

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.

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