BCS Wealth Management Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• BCS Wealth Management reduced its Apple stake by 50.5% in the first quarter, selling 18,969 shares and ending with 18,621 shares valued at about $4.73 million.
• Despite some mixed institutional activity, Apple remains heavily owned by big investors, with 67.73% of shares held by hedge funds and other institutions. Several firms increased positions, while others trimmed them.
• Wall Street sentiment on Apple is still broadly positive: analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $314.85, even as a few firms have recently downgraded the stock or held cautious ratings.

BCS Wealth Management cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 50.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,621 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 18,969 shares during the period. BCS Wealth Management's holdings in Apple were worth $4,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 150.8% during the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 193,373 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $49,076,000 after buying an additional 116,271 shares in the last quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 48,255 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,247,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. grew its stake in Apple by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. now owns 18,479 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the first quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 246,959 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,676,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares during the period. Finally, Amarillo National Bank increased its position in shares of Apple by 4.1% during the first quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 44,922 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,752 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. KGI Securities downgraded Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $281.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.26 and a 52-week high of $317.40. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $292.88 and its 200 day moving average is $273.20.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is accelerating software security updates to respond faster to AI-driven hacking threats, which could reassure users and enterprises that the company is proactively protecting its ecosystem. Reuters: Apple says it is releasing updates early in response to AI cybersecurity concerns
• Positive Sentiment: Counterpoint-related reports suggest Apple could reach record market share in smartphones, laptops, and tablets in 2026, reinforcing the company’s competitive position and long-term device demand. Seeking Alpha: Apple to hit record market share in smartphones, laptops, tablets in 2026: Counterpoint
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts argue Apple’s recent price increases may not hurt earnings as much as feared because of the company’s pricing power and loyal customer base. TipRanks: Apple Raising Device Prices May Not Hurt Earnings as Much as Investors Fear
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple wants approval to buy memory chips from China’s CXMT highlight efforts to secure supply, but also underscore how the AI-driven memory crunch is pressuring margins and creating geopolitical risk. Invezz: Apple wants to buy memory chips from CXMT
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is facing intensified scrutiny over recent price hikes, with multiple reports warning that higher component costs could slow revenue growth and pressure consumer demand. Barchart: Price Hikes Could Create a Major Problem for AAPL Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s dispute with India’s antitrust regulator adds legal uncertainty, with the company accusing the watchdog of copying rivals’ claims and potentially raising the risk of tougher App Store remedies. Reuters: Apple iPhone 18 Pro supplier list... exposed in Tata data leak
• Negative Sentiment: A Reuters report that iPhone 18 Pro supplier and component details were exposed in a Tata Electronics data leak adds another supply-chain and product-secrecy concern for Apple. Yahoo Finance video: Apple says India 'copy-pasted' rivals' claims in antitrust probe

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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