Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by ST Germain D J Co. Inc.

Key Points

• ST Germain D J Co. Inc. trimmed its Apple stake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,408 shares but still holding 463,940 shares valued at about $126.1 million. Apple remains the fund’s second-largest holding.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Apple, with several firms recently raising price targets. The stock now has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $308.74.
• Apple posted a strong quarterly report, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26. The article also notes that insider selling has continued, including recent sales by CEO Tim Cook and CFO Kevan Parekh.

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 463,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 6,408 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.9% of ST Germain D J Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $126,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 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 last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $112,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Monday, January 26th. KGI Securities upgraded Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Maxim Group upgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was 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 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly cutting prices in China ahead of the June 18 “618” shopping holiday, a move that could boost unit sales and help defend market share in a key region, according to Wedbush. Dear Apple Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 18
• Positive Sentiment: Apple was highlighted as a top-ranked momentum stock by Zacks, reinforcing the idea that the shares continue to attract technical and style-based buying interest. Apple (AAPL) is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Memorial Day tech promotions featuring Apple products may support short-term demand and keep the brand top of mind with consumers during a heavy shopping period. Memorial Day tech sales are live: Save up to 50% off on some of our favorite gadgets at Amazon, Apple, Best Buy and more
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces framed Apple as a core mega-cap stock, but they did not introduce new fundamentals that would materially change the near-term outlook. Instead of Chasing Alpha, Here Are 4 Ways to Pick the Low-Hanging Apples
• Neutral Sentiment: Other articles discussed Apple in broader tech or portfolio contexts, including comparisons with Microsoft and ETF exposure, which are more informational than stock-moving on their own. Apple vs. Microsoft: What Their Revenue Trends Reveal for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Huawei’s new smartphone chip plans add another competitive overhang for Apple, raising concerns about iPhone demand in China and the broader premium-phone market. Huawei unveils new smartphone chips this fall as rivalry with Nvidia and Apple heats up
• Negative Sentiment: A Bloomberg report said Apple’s Watch and health strategy needs a reboot to stay competitive, suggesting wearables remain an area where rivals could gain ground. Apple’s Watch and Health Efforts Need Reboot to Rival New Wearables
• Negative Sentiment: Some opinion pieces argued Apple may eventually lose momentum versus other mega-cap winners, which could weigh on sentiment even though these were long-term speculative takes rather than immediate catalysts. 3 Reasons Apple Will Be Booted From The Magnificent 7 By The End Of 2030

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $308.82 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $311.40. The company has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. The business's fifty day moving average is $270.70 and its 200 day moving average is $268.90.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company 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%.Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

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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