Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management trimmed its Apple stake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, though Apple still remains its 4th-largest holding at 2.4% of the portfolio, worth about $114.5 million.
• Apple reported strong recent results, with Q4 EPS of $2.01 beating estimates and revenue of $111.18 billion topping forecasts; revenue rose 16.6% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with analysts highlighting Apple’s AI and Siri upgrade potential and several firms raising price targets, while the stock also received a small dividend increase to $0.27 per share quarterly.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 421,039 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 12,406 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.4% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Apple were worth $114,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $2,359,212,000. Blalock Williams LLC increased its stake in Apple by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 10,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,817,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Apple by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 610,554 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $165,985,000 after acquiring an additional 79,741 shares during the last quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 15,998 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 509,692 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $138,565,000 after acquiring an additional 98,421 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming WWDC is expected to showcase a major Siri AI overhaul and broader iOS AI upgrades, reinforcing expectations for a stronger AI product cycle. Apple to Unveil Siri’s AI Overhaul at June Conference
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are increasingly bullish that Apple’s ecosystem could benefit from agentic AI, with Bank of America reportedly lifting its price target and pointing to user identity, payments, and app access as key advantages. Bank of America Raises Its Apple Stock Price Target to $380. Agentic AI Could Be the Upside Driver.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces highlight Apple as a momentum stock and suggest Apple Intelligence could drive iPhone and Mac upgrades, which supports the case for further revenue growth. Apple Intelligence Drives Up iPhone & Mac Sales: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Leak-driven coverage around the iPhone 18 Pro’s rumored colors and camera changes is generating buzz, but it is too early to be a major fundamental stock driver. iPhone 18 Pro dummy units reveal four color options [Gallery] - 9to5Mac
• Negative Sentiment: Some technical commentary warns Apple is approaching long-term resistance and may need a consolidation period after a strong run, which could limit near-term upside. Apple (AAPL) Faces $355 Barrier at Top of Its Multi-Year Uptrend Structure

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $312.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.73, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $195.07 and a one year high of $315.00. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $275.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $270.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm 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 boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple's payout ratio is 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 8th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group set a $296.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating 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 given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.31.

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.

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