Carnegie Investment Counsel Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its Apple stake by 2.5% in Q4, buying 16,645 shares to hold 685,642 shares worth $186.4 million, making Apple about 3.4% of its portfolio and its third-largest holding.
• Apple beat Q2 expectations with $111.18B revenue and $2.01 EPS, issued a strong fiscal Q3 revenue guide (up 14–17% YoY) and added $100B to its share buyback program, citing “extraordinary” iPhone 17 demand.
• Insider moves and shareholder returns: CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares (~$16.5M) under a 10b5‑1 plan and insiders sold ~96,485 shares over three months, while Apple raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 ($1.08 annual, ~0.4% yield).

Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 685,642 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 16,645 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.4% of Carnegie Investment Counsel's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Apple were worth $186,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 110.9% in the third 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 last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first 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 last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $112,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at $99,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat on top and bottom lines — Apple reported $111.2B revenue and $2.01 adjusted EPS, topping Street estimates and signaling continued demand momentum. Apple's Stock Climbs on a Rosy Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management says iPhone 17 demand is “extraordinary”; iPhone revenue rose strongly and the active installed base hit records — supports durable hardware growth. Apple Sales Top $111 Billion in Second Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Strong forward guide — Apple guided fiscal Q3 revenue up 14–17% YoY (above consensus), and raised profit guidance; that drove the most immediate upside reaction. Apple Stock Jumps on Revenue Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Capital return ramp — Apple added $100B to its buyback program and signaled shareholder-friendly distributions, which supports EPS and investor sentiment. Apple adds $100 billion to its share buyback program
• Neutral Sentiment: Services and Mac strength — Services hit an all-time quarterly high (~$30B) and Macs saw AI-driven demand, diversifying revenue beyond iPhone. Apple was surprised by AI-driven demand for Macs
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership transition spotlight — Tim Cook introduced incoming CEO John Ternus on the earnings call; investors see a smooth handoff but will watch execution under new leadership. Incoming Apple CEO John Ternus Makes Wall Street Cameo
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and supply headwinds — Management warned memory costs will increasingly impact the business and said supply constraints limited some iPhone shipments; that could pressure margins and near-term unit growth. Cook: Memory Costs Will Be Increasing Impact On Our Business
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk — Apple is in a tense dispute with India’s antitrust body over document requests; prolonged fights or fines could be a headline risk in key markets. Apple says India antitrust body overstepping judicial authority
• Negative Sentiment: Product execution concerns — reports that Vision Pro priority has been dialed back and mixed commentary on longer-term AI positioning leave some investors wanting clearer strategy/roadmap. Apple Has Given Up on the Vision Pro After M5 Refresh Flop

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. KGI Securities raised Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Scotiabank set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $301.83.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $271.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $193.25 and a one year high of $288.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $260.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.15%.

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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