Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Skylands Capital LLC

Key Points

• Skylands Capital LLC trimmed its Apple stake by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,315 shares and leaving it with 97,270 shares worth about $26.4 million. Apple remains its 5th-largest holding and makes up 3.6% of the portfolio.
• Apple’s fundamentals remain strong, with the company reporting $2.01 EPS and $111.18 billion in quarterly revenue, both above Wall Street estimates. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and Apple also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 from $0.26.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with several firms lifting price targets and the stock holding a “Moderate Buy” average rating. The shares were trading near record levels at $312.51, following renewed optimism around Apple’s AI strategy and upcoming Siri improvements.

Skylands Capital LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,270 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 10,315 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.6% of Skylands Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Skylands Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $26,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. American Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,934,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. KGI Securities raised shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $330.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.31.

Apple Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $312.51 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $274.19 and its 200-day moving average is $269.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.07 and a twelve month high of $313.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Apple to $380 from $330 and kept a Buy rating, saying agentic AI could strengthen Apple’s ecosystem and create meaningful new revenue opportunities.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple is preparing a major Siri overhaul for WWDC, including a new app-like experience designed to compete more directly with ChatGPT-style assistants, which could improve sentiment around Apple’s AI roadmap.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentary continue to argue that Apple’s installed base, privacy controls, payments, and device ownership give it a strong position if AI assistants become a primary interface for search, commerce, and productivity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s stock is already near record territory, so some of the optimism around AI and WWDC may already be reflected in the share price.
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles note that Apple is still viewed by parts of the market as an AI laggard versus rivals, and that its valuation is already rich, which could limit upside if WWDC disappoints.

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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