Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Factory Mutual Insurance Co.

Key Points

• Factory Mutual trimmed its stake in Apple by 2.3% in Q4, selling 40,250 shares and now holding 1,727,321 shares worth $469.6 million, about 4.8% of its portfolio and the firm's third-largest holding.
• Apple beat Q2 estimates with EPS of $2.01 vs. $1.95 and revenue of $111.18 billion (up 16.6% YoY); analysts have raised price targets and the MarketBeat consensus target is $304.31 with an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Management expanded capital returns — announcing a $100 billion buyback and raising the quarterly dividend to $0.27 (annualized $1.08) — while insiders sold roughly 96,485 shares in the past 90 days, including CEO Tim Cook's sale of 64,949 shares.

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,727,321 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 40,250 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.8% of Factory Mutual Insurance Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.'s holdings in Apple were worth $469,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group set a $296.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $304.31.

Apple Stock Up 3.3%

AAPL stock opened at $280.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.25 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 161.46%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.15%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat and June-quarter guidance well above Street expectations, giving investors confidence in near-term sales momentum and margins. Apple stages sharpest rally in 9 months as execs cite iPhone, Mac demand in boosting guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Management expanded capital returns — a large share buyback ($100B) plus a dividend raise — which supports EPS and buyback-driven upside. Apple (AAPL) Stock: Q2 Earnings Beat ... and $100B Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger-than-expected demand in Greater China and for the iPhone 17 and Mac lineup (including Mac Mini demand for AI work) is driving top-line upside and a re-rating by some analysts. Apple's China sales jumped 28%: now analysts are rethinking AAPL
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised price targets and options activity surged, signaling bullish positioning and expectations for further upside. Analyst moves & options flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple signaled it is retiring its net-cash-neutral target — investors interpret this as freeing cash for a potential large AI acquisition, but timing and impact remain speculative. Apple just gave a subtle clue that a splashy AI acquisition may be in the cards
• Neutral Sentiment: Media/services expansion — Apple aims to grow its sports/TV footprint (Formula One content and TV deals), which supports longer-term services revenue diversification but is incremental near term. Apple's Cue expects F1 movie sequel...
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned that the global memory-chip shortage is worsening — that creates a real near-term cost/margin headwind and could force pricing or longer-term supplier commitments. Apple Warns the Memory Shortage Is Getting Worse
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts remain cautious — Wall Street is split on whether the beat is sustainable versus one-time effects (tariff refunds, inventory/timing), leaving valuation and durability questions. Wall Street Splits on Apple After Q2 Beat

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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