Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Bollard Group LLC

Key Points

• Bollard Group LLC reduced its Apple stake by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,064 shares and leaving it with 61,157 shares worth about $16.6 million.
• Insider selling has also been notable: Apple CFO Kevan Parekh and insider Ben Borders both sold shares, and insiders have sold 97,759 shares valued at nearly $25 million over the last 90 days.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Bollard Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,157 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 6,064 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 0.4% of Bollard Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Bollard Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $16,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 17 Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. 17 Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,511 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,858,000 after buying an additional 2,037 shares during the period. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $105,482,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $17,565,000. Ackerman Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 410.9% in the 4th quarter. Ackerman Asset Management LLC now owns 26,568 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,223,000 after buying an additional 21,368 shares during the period. Finally, Altrafin AG acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $10,987,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $291.13 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $195.07 and a 52 week high of $317.40. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $285.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $272.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09.

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. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Services business posted record revenue in the fiscal second quarter, supported by ecosystem growth, AI-related updates, and its huge installed device base. Apple Continues to Expand Services Business: What's the Path Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators said Apple still has strong fundamentals, including a solid balance sheet, loyal customer base, and products investors continue to love, which supports the long-term bull case. Jim Cramer on Apple: “It Still Has Products We All Love”
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Apple, signaling expectations for steady profit growth over the next two fiscal years. Apple earnings estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC announcements showed a clearer AI roadmap, including next-generation Siri features and device software updates, but the market appears to be waiting for stronger evidence that these changes will drive meaningful revenue growth. Apple Unveils Siri AI. Here's Why It's Not Impressing Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggested Apple’s AI launch could help the stock over time, but it may take more than Siri upgrades alone to restore investor enthusiasm. Apple Just Gave Investors a Glimpse of Is AI Future at WWDC. It May Take More to Revive AAPL Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried Apple’s AI ambitions are colliding with a memory-cost crunch, creating pricing pressure that could weigh on margins. Apple Faces a No-Win Pricing Dilemma. Should Investors Be Worried?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say the market was disappointed that Apple’s Siri AI reveal did not feel like a big enough breakthrough to justify a sharper rerating of the stock. Apple's AI News Underwhelms. Siri AI Release Concerns Persist.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.