Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Cut by Vision Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Vision Capital Management trimmed its Apple stake by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, but Apple still remains a major holding for the firm at 7.5% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $2.01 on revenue of $111.18 billion, while also raising its dividend and authorizing a new $100 billion buyback.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly constructive: Apple has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with an average price target of $308.74, though some firms like Barclays still rate the stock underweight.

Vision Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,918 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 6,678 shares during the period. Apple makes up 7.5% of Vision Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Vision Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $61,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 171,564 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $46,641,000 after acquiring an additional 9,660 shares in the last quarter. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC now owns 41,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $11,218,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084 shares in the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 64,161 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,035,000 after acquiring an additional 9,221 shares in the last quarter. Acute Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Acute Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighRoad Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,155,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $253.00 price objective (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson lifted 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s post-earnings rally continues after the company posted record quarterly revenue and EPS, boosted its dividend, and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analysts say the results support further upside and have raised price targets. Apple Stock Hits All-Time High as Post-Earnings Rally Continues
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Apple to $365 and said a bull-case scenario could reach $500, citing compounding growth from Services and Apple’s ability to keep expanding free cash flow. Evercore ISI Hikes Apple Price Target to $365
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being helped by reports that iPhone demand remains strong globally, plus Soros Fund Management reportedly boosted its Apple position during the quarter. George Soros’s fund buys Berkshire Hathaway stock — now that Buffett is gone
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut iPhone 17 prices in China ahead of the 618 shopping festival, which could help support unit sales in a key market. Apple Cuts iPhone 17 Prices in China
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is considering legal action over its strained ChatGPT partnership with Apple, which adds uncertainty around Apple’s AI strategy and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. OpenAI explores legal options against Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic’s Mythos AI found vulnerabilities in Apple’s macOS/iOS are a reminder of ongoing security scrutiny, but the news is more reputational than fundamentally financial for now. Anthropic's Mythos Helped Find Bugs in Apple's Desktop Operating System

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $300.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $303.20. The stock's 50-day moving average is $265.37 and its 200 day moving average is $267.48.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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