Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.

Key Points

• Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings cut its Apple stake by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 240,000 shares and leaving it with 674,700 shares valued at about $183.4 million.
• Apple continues to show solid operating performance, reporting $2.01 EPS and $111.18 billion in quarterly revenue, both above analyst expectations, with revenue up 16.6% year over year.
• The company also boosted its dividend to $0.27 per share quarterly, while Wall Street remains broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $308.74.

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 674,700 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 240,000 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.6% of Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $183,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $297.84 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $266.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.01, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $303.20. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly planning a broad set of AI features for iOS 27, including writing help, app shortcuts, and other Siri enhancements, signaling a stronger product roadmap for the next iPhone cycle.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple’s revamped Siri may lean on Google Gemini suggest Apple is willing to use outside AI to accelerate its assistant overhaul, which could improve competitive positioning faster than building everything in-house. Apple's Next-Gen Siri App May Lean Heavily on Google's AI
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary highlighted Apple’s services business as a potential earnings engine, with some analysts seeing a path to higher EPS if the ecosystem continues to expand.
• Positive Sentiment: Hedge-fund interest also remains supportive, with Viking Global reportedly opening a fresh Apple stake worth nearly $1 billion, reinforcing institutional confidence in the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming WWDC is expected to center on AI integration, but it is still a preview event rather than a revenue event, so the near-term impact depends on how compelling the announcements are. Apple Reveals Dates of Tim Cook's Final WWDC as CEO
• Neutral Sentiment: Social chatter around satellite connectivity and other hardware upgrades points to continued innovation interest, but these themes are longer-term and less likely to move the stock immediately.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is facing renewed regulatory pressure after an Indian court ordered the company to fully cooperate in an App Store antitrust probe, adding another legal overhang for investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple is discounting iPhone 17 models in China highlight ongoing competition and margin pressure in a critical market, which could temper enthusiasm if price cuts deepen.

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.

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