Carnegie Investment Counsel Sells 21,257 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its Apple position by 3.1%, selling 21,257 shares during the first quarter but retaining 664,385 shares valued at approximately $168.6 million. Apple remains the firm’s second-largest holding and represents 3.3% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported quarterly EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 16.6% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $327.40 target price, although Apple’s elevated valuation and recent insider selling could weigh on investor enthusiasm.

Carnegie Investment Counsel reduced its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 664,385 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 21,257 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.3% of Carnegie Investment Counsel's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Apple were worth $168,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.0% in the first quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $333.02 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.50 and a twelve month high of $334.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $306.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $279.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford said it will embed Apple Maps into upcoming EVs, expanding Apple’s software reach and reinforcing the value of its ecosystem. Ford Embeds Apple Maps Directly into Upcoming EVs
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Apple and reiterated an Outperform rating, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Apple as outperforming the broader market, supported by strong ratings and a favorable chart setup ahead of earnings. Why is Apple stock outperforming the broader market?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also the subject of discussion around upcoming product launches, AI features, and a possible device-leasing program, which could support demand but remain unconfirmed or longer-term in nature.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted concerns that Apple’s valuation is stretched heading into earnings, and insider sales plus short-interest chatter may temper enthusiasm if results disappoint.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $365.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $327.40.

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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