Columbia Asset Management Sells 3,704 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Columbia Asset Management trimmed its Apple stake by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,704 shares and ending with 199,639 shares valued at about $54.3 million. Apple remained its largest holding, making up roughly 9.6% of the portfolio.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.01 versus the $1.95 estimate and revenue of $111.18 billion, above expectations. Revenue rose 16.6% year over year, and analysts still expect 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $308.74. Apple also recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, up from $0.26.

Columbia Asset Management lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,639 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,704 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 9.6% of Columbia Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Apple were worth $54,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. American Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Avant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $298.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $266.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.88. The company has a market cap of $4.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.46 and a 52-week high of $303.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $308.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was 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. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is rolling out new Apple Intelligence features, including AI-powered accessibility tools and planned iOS 27 upgrades such as smarter writing help, Shortcuts improvements, and wallpaper features, reinforcing the view that AI can drive the next phase of growth. Apple announces Apple Intelligence powered accessibility feature updates
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple recent articles highlight Apple’s Services business as a major profit engine, suggesting investors are starting to value Apple less as just an iPhone maker and more as a higher-margin platform company. AAPL: Forget the iPhone—Services Will Drive the Next Phase of Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Apple remains near record levels, with commentary pointing to strong iPhone and Services performance and analyst targets well above current trading ranges, which supports the bullish valuation narrative. Apple Trades Close to 52-Week High: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional investors continue to add Apple exposure, including a new near-$1 billion stake from Viking Global, signaling ongoing big-money confidence in AAPL. Viking Global Opens Fresh Apple Stake Worth Nearly $1 Billion As Big Tech Trade Roars Back
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s return of Fortnite to the App Store removes one high-profile friction point, but it also keeps attention on Apple’s App Store control and ongoing platform disputes. Fortnite Returns to the App Store Amid Clashes With Apple
• Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ordered Apple to fully cooperate in an App Store antitrust probe, adding to regulatory risk around Apple’s platform practices and potential penalties. Indian court tells Apple to 'cooperate' in antitrust case
• Negative Sentiment: Samsung and Google unveiled AI smart glasses to challenge Meta and Apple, underscoring intensifying competition in next-generation consumer AI hardware. Samsung and Google Announce AI Smart Glasses to Challenge Meta and Apple
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Apple’s global Formula 1 streaming ambitions may take time to expand beyond the U.S. because of differing international media-rights cycles, limiting the near-term boost from that deal. After U.S. deal, Apple's global F1 push may take time

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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