Brookstone Capital Management Reduces Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Brookstone Capital Management trimmed its Apple stake by 2.8% in Q4, selling 16,181 shares to hold 564,466 shares valued at $153.46M, making AAPL its 6th-largest position at 1.8% of the portfolio.
• Corporate insiders sold shares as well: CEO Tim Cook disposed of 64,949 shares (~$16.5M) and SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 30,002 shares, with both transactions executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Apple’s fundamentals remain robust—market cap $3.82T, quarterly EPS beat ($2.84 vs. $2.67) on $143.8B revenue—and it carries a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with an average target of $301.23.

Brookstone Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 564,466 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 16,181 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 1.8% of Brookstone Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Apple were worth $153,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 40,543 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $260.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.06 and a 52-week high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business's fifty day moving average is $260.76 and its 200-day moving average is $263.73.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.Apple's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 13.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on Apple from $239.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $301.23.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Market share gains: Counterpoint/Reuters data show Apple led global smartphone shipments in Q1 with about 21% share and 5% year‑over‑year growth — a signal of resilient iPhone demand that underpins revenue and margin outlooks. Apple leads global smartphone shipments
• Positive Sentiment: Supplier strength: TSMC reported a 35% jump in Q1 revenue on AI chip demand — good for Apple’s advanced chip supply continuity and pricing leverage for devices using leading-node silicon. TSMC revenue surges
• Positive Sentiment: Services distribution lift: Apple TV becoming available as a paid add‑on on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S. expands services reach and monetization channels for Apple’s content/subscription ecosystem. Apple TV lands on Amazon Prime Video
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity: Reports of unusual bullish options flow suggest some investors are positioning for upside, but options can amplify short‑term moves without changing fundamentals. Unusual Activity in Apple Options Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional moves: Coverage notes Israel Englander trimmed a Millennium position and other filings show insider sales — routine portfolio rebalancing that merits monitoring but not necessarily a directional signal alone. Israel Englander Trims Stake
• Negative Sentiment: Retail/ labor risk: Apple will close three U.S. mall stores in June including its first unionized location in Towson, Maryland. The move raises labor‑relations and PR concerns and highlights brick‑and‑mortar pressure — a small revenue line but reputational and employee‑relation risk. Apple to shutter its first unionized US store
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings/forecast downside: Jefferies flagged a possible slight March‑quarter miss (weaker iPhone sales, higher memory costs) and Erste lowered FY2027 EPS estimates — both could pressure near‑term sentiment ahead of formal guidance. Apple set to deliver slight earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: Product timing concerns: Ongoing reports about foldable iPhone technical challenges and potential delays keep some investors cautious about the next major product catalyst. Foldable iPhone remains on track

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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