Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 27,471 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd. reduced its Apple stake by 3.7%, selling 27,471 shares and retaining 705,319 shares valued at approximately $179 million. Apple remains the insurer’s second-largest holding, representing about 5.1% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported quarterly EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $109.42 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue increased 16.4% year over year. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 67.73% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Apple carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $330.44. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% annual yield.

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 705,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 27,471 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 5.1% of Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $179,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Eaton Cambridge Inc. now owns 13,968 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 108.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,880,000 after purchasing an additional 18,188 shares during the period. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $105,482,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. KGI Securities downgraded shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $330.44.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $313.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $4.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $309.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $283.42. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $219.25 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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 represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planned CEO transition appears orderly. Tim Cook will step down in September and be succeeded by longtime Apple executive John Ternus, a veteran with experience dating back to the Steve Jobs era. Cook’s endorsement and Ternus’ familiarity with Apple’s products may reduce concerns about strategic disruption. Tim Cook Says There’s ‘No Better Person’ to Take Over at Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Core business momentum remains strong. Apple’s latest quarter exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up roughly 16% year over year. Broad iPhone, Mac and Services demand continues to support the bullish case. Tim Cook's Last Quarter as CEO Was Apple's Best June Quarter Ever
• Positive Sentiment: App Store monetization is holding up. App Store revenue increased slightly despite a 4% decline in iPhone and iPad downloads, as revenue per download rose 4.7%. This suggests continued pricing and engagement resilience in a key Services business. Apple App Store Revenue Ticks Up Despite Falling Downloads
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is seeking dismissal of Apple’s trade-secrets lawsuit. OpenAI denies misappropriating confidential information related to Apple’s consumer-hardware efforts. The filing does not resolve the dispute, leaving legal and competitive uncertainty in place. OpenAI Seeks Dismissal of Apple's Trade Secrets Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term cost and growth pressures are weighing on sentiment. Rising memory prices, supply constraints and policy risks could pressure margins, while slower Services growth has prompted some firms to downgrade Apple to Hold or Moderate Sell. Apple's Capex Strategy Worked But Other Pressures Are Mounting
• Negative Sentiment: Competition in emerging hardware is increasing. Samsung reported a 30% rise in foldable-device preorders, highlighting a market Apple has yet to enter. Investors may view future Apple foldables as an opportunity, but execution and timing remain uncertain. Samsung Foldable Preorders Jump 30%

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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