Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Purchases 144,973 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners increased its Apple stake by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 144,973 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 1,235,955 shares valued at about $336 million.
• Apple continues to attract broad institutional support, with large investors such as KBC Group and Vanguard Personalized Indexing also adding shares; roughly 67.7% of Apple stock is held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Despite some insider selling and mixed market reaction to Apple’s AI/WWDC announcements, analysts remain generally constructive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $314.59.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,235,955 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 144,973 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.9% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $336,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Overbrook Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.3% during the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $1,178,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,915,172,000 after purchasing an additional 214,215 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,246,305 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $572,168,000 after purchasing an additional 116,960 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.59.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Services business posted record revenue in the fiscal second quarter, supported by ecosystem growth, AI-related updates, and its huge installed device base. Apple Continues to Expand Services Business: What's the Path Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators said Apple still has strong fundamentals, including a solid balance sheet, loyal customer base, and products investors continue to love, which supports the long-term bull case. Jim Cramer on Apple: “It Still Has Products We All Love”
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Apple, signaling expectations for steady profit growth over the next two fiscal years. Apple earnings estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC announcements showed a clearer AI roadmap, including next-generation Siri features and device software updates, but the market appears to be waiting for stronger evidence that these changes will drive meaningful revenue growth. Apple Unveils Siri AI. Here's Why It's Not Impressing Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggested Apple’s AI launch could help the stock over time, but it may take more than Siri upgrades alone to restore investor enthusiasm. Apple Just Gave Investors a Glimpse of Is AI Future at WWDC. It May Take More to Revive AAPL Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried Apple’s AI ambitions are colliding with a memory-cost crunch, creating pricing pressure that could weigh on margins. Apple Faces a No-Win Pricing Dilemma. Should Investors Be Worried?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say the market was disappointed that Apple’s Siri AI reveal did not feel like a big enough breakthrough to justify a sharper rerating of the stock. Apple's AI News Underwhelms. Siri AI Release Concerns Persist.

Apple Trading Down 1.5%

AAPL opened at $291.13 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $195.07 and a 1-year 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 company has a market cap of $4.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $285.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $272.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Apple 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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