Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.

Key Points

• Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. cut its Apple stake by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, but Apple still remains its largest holding at 9.1% of portfolio assets, worth about $27.85 million.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $2.01 per share and revenue of $111.18 billion, both above analyst expectations. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.
• Insider selling has continued, including sales by SVP Deirdre O'Brien and CFO Kevan Parekh; over the last three months, insiders sold 97,759 shares worth nearly $25.0 million. Meanwhile, analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $312.82.

Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,954 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 37,361 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 9.1% of Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $27,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $310.26 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $195.07 and a 1-year high of $316.94. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $279.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.84.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts reiterated bullish views on Apple ahead of WWDC, including Goldman Sachs keeping a Buy rating with a $340 target and Evercore ISI lifting its target to $365, citing Apple’s AI roadmap, ecosystem strength, and services growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor expectations remain high that Apple will unveil major AI updates at WWDC, especially a rebuilt Siri and deeper Apple Intelligence features, which could extend the stock’s recent rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports suggest Apple may expand its ecosystem with a native bill-splitting/payment feature in iOS, which could deepen user engagement and strengthen its services revenue stream. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around Apple’s stock has been upbeat, with articles highlighting outperformance versus the S&P 500 and strong demand for iPhones and Macs ahead of the conference. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS said not to expect fireworks from WWDC and kept a Neutral rating, suggesting the event may not deliver a near-term stock catalyst if announcements disappoint. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent gains and all-time high have also prompted valuation concerns, with some analysts and commentators warning the shares may already price in a lot of good news. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Apple agreed to submit India business financials in an antitrust case, keeping regulatory risk in focus and raising the possibility of penalties. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive headlines from Nvidia, Walmart, and others show mounting pressure on parts of Apple’s ecosystem, including PCs and payments, which could weigh on sentiment if rivals gain traction. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $312.82.

Apple Company 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.

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.