Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Lowered by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• KCM Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its Apple stake by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, but Apple remains its largest holding at 7.5% of portfolio assets, worth about $234.24 million.
• Apple’s latest earnings beat expectations, with $2.01 EPS on $111.18 billion in revenue, while analysts now forecast 8.75 EPS for the current year.
• Sentiment around Apple’s AI strategy remains mixed: investors are encouraged by clearer WWDC plans and strong Services growth, but some reports say the Siri AI reveal did not go far enough to spark a major stock rerating.

KCM Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 861,620 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 15,265 shares during the period. Apple makes up 7.5% of KCM Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. KCM Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $234,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first 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 last quarter. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $69,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple by 52.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Services business posted record revenue in the fiscal second quarter, supported by ecosystem growth, AI-related updates, and its huge installed device base. Apple Continues to Expand Services Business: What's the Path Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators said Apple still has strong fundamentals, including a solid balance sheet, loyal customer base, and products investors continue to love, which supports the long-term bull case. Jim Cramer on Apple: “It Still Has Products We All Love”
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Apple, signaling expectations for steady profit growth over the next two fiscal years. Apple earnings estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC announcements showed a clearer AI roadmap, including next-generation Siri features and device software updates, but the market appears to be waiting for stronger evidence that these changes will drive meaningful revenue growth. Apple Unveils Siri AI. Here's Why It's Not Impressing Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggested Apple’s AI launch could help the stock over time, but it may take more than Siri upgrades alone to restore investor enthusiasm. Apple Just Gave Investors a Glimpse of Is AI Future at WWDC. It May Take More to Revive AAPL Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried Apple’s AI ambitions are colliding with a memory-cost crunch, creating pricing pressure that could weigh on margins. Apple Faces a No-Win Pricing Dilemma. Should Investors Be Worried?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say the market was disappointed that Apple’s Siri AI reveal did not feel like a big enough breakthrough to justify a sharper rerating of the stock. Apple's AI News Underwhelms. Siri AI Release Concerns Persist.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $291.13 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.07 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The business's 50-day moving average is $285.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $4.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.59.

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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