BankPlus Trust Department Trims Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• BankPlus Trust Department cut its Apple stake by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,727 shares and leaving it with 45,542 shares worth about $12.38 million. Apple remains its third-largest holding, making up 3.2% of the portfolio.
• Apple reported a strong fiscal quarter, with revenue of $111.18 billion and EPS of $2.01 both beating estimates. The company also approved a new $100 billion share buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27.
• Sentiment on Wall Street stays positive, with analysts citing Apple’s Services growth and AI potential; Evercore ISI raised its price target to $365 and the consensus target is about $308.74. Apple stock has also been boosted by recent insider activity and optimism around upcoming AI-related catalysts.

BankPlus Trust Department lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,542 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,727 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.2% of BankPlus Trust Department's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. BankPlus Trust Department's holdings in Apple were worth $12,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 251,704 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $68,429,000 after purchasing an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. Vista Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Aspiring Ventures LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Aspiring Ventures LLC now owns 13,864 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,769,000 after purchasing an additional 3,324 shares during the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 179,254 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $48,732,000 after purchasing an additional 75,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Money Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Money Management Inc. now owns 26,950 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter was a clear beat, with revenue of $111.18 billion and EPS of $2.01 topping expectations, while management also approved a fresh $100 billion buyback and raised the dividend.
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its price target on Apple to $365 from $330 and reiterated an Outperform rating, citing strong Services growth and long-term earnings/free-cash-flow compounding.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm remains elevated around Apple’s AI roadmap, with reports pointing to WWDC as a potential catalyst and broader expectations that Apple can monetize AI through devices and Services.
• Positive Sentiment: China-related headlines may also help sentiment, as Xi Jinping told U.S. CEOs including Tim Cook that China will “open wider,” easing some concerns about Apple’s supply chain and market access.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly exploring new AI-agent support in the App Store and additional iOS features, which could support the ecosystem but are still early-stage product rumors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Security reports about vulnerabilities found in macOS/iOS are a reminder of cyber risks, but they do not yet appear to be a material earnings issue.
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI is reportedly considering legal action against Apple over their ChatGPT partnership, raising the risk of a public dispute around Apple’s AI strategy.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling and a reported Foxconn ransomware incident may slightly temper sentiment, though neither looks large enough to outweigh the bullish earnings and analyst upgrades.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $298.21 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $264.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.25. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.46 and a 12-month high of $300.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. 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. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $335.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target 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, Phillip Securities raised shares of Apple from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.74.

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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