Coston McIsaac & Partners Sells 2,135 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Coston McIsaac & Partners reduced its Apple stake by 4.1% in the first quarter, selling 2,135 shares and leaving it with 49,364 shares valued at about $12.5 million.
• Apple reported strong fiscal Q2 earnings, beating estimates with EPS of $2.01 on revenue of $111.18 billion, while revenue rose 16.6% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly constructive on Apple, with analysts assigning a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $314.85; the company also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Coston McIsaac & Partners decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,364 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,135 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.8% of Coston McIsaac & Partners' investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Coston McIsaac & Partners' holdings in Apple were worth $12,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. First Financial Group Corp raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. First Financial Group Corp now owns 20,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,083,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. grew its position in Apple by 10.2% in the first quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 862 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.9% during the first quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 54,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,795,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Seneca Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 2.5% during the first quarter. Seneca Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,210 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY raised its position in Apple by 4.4% in the first quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 153,271 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $38,899,000 after purchasing an additional 6,469 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $310.66 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $296.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $274.38. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $317.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.56, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during 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 revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.85.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan reportedly raised its price target on Apple, reinforcing bullish expectations heading into fiscal Q3 earnings and signaling confidence in Apple’s growth and margins. J.P. Morgan Lifts Apple Stock (AAPL) Price Target Ahead of Q3 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s extended chip partnership with Broadcom through 2031 strengthens its AI and connectivity supply chain, improving visibility for future products and supporting sentiment around Apple’s long-term execution. Broadcom, Apple extend chip partnership through 2031
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports say investors are warming to Apple’s “cheap AI” strategy, with attention shifting to Macs, Siri, and other ecosystem features rather than just the iPhone, which could create new upside drivers. Why Investors Fell Back In Love With Apple’s Cheap AI Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said Apple should be able to weather hardware price increases because demand remains resilient, suggesting consumers may be less price-sensitive than feared. Apple Sales Seen Weathering Hardware Price Increases

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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