Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Essex Bank

Key Points

• Essex Bank trimmed its Apple stake by 2.6% in the first quarter, selling 2,881 shares and leaving it with 107,599 shares valued at about $27.3 million. Apple remains one of the bank’s largest holdings, accounting for roughly 6% of its portfolio.
• Apple continues to attract mixed Wall Street sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating with a $360 target, while the broader analyst consensus remains Moderate Buy with an average price target of $314.85. Several other firms also maintained bullish ratings, even as some analysts stayed neutral.
• Recent fundamentals show both strengths and pressure points. Apple beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and raised its dividend to $0.27 per share, but it also lifted prices on some Mac and iPad models as chip costs rise, and it lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI.

Essex Bank lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,599 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,881 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 6.0% of Essex Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Essex Bank's holdings in Apple were worth $27,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in Apple by 890.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $11,413,990,000 after purchasing an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 20,464.8% during 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 buying an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Apple Trading Up 0.2%

Apple stock opened at $284.29 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.26 and a 52 week high of $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $292.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.17.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company 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 was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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