First Merchants Corp Sells 3,259 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• First Merchants Corp trimmed its Apple stake by 1.6% in Q4, selling 3,259 shares and now holding 203,478 shares worth $55.318 million, which is about 2.0% of its portfolio and the fund’s 8th-largest position.
• Apple beat quarterly estimates with $2.84 EPS (vs. $2.67) and $143.76 billion revenue (up 15.7% YoY), and analysts project roughly 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The stock carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $297.58 target, but sentiment is mixed—bullish notes on services/AI and a $400M U.S. manufacturing expansion are offset by valuation concerns, supplier/competitive risks and geopolitical headlines.

First Merchants Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 203,478 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,259 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.0% of First Merchants Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. First Merchants Corp's holdings in Apple were worth $55,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Phillip Securities raised Apple from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $297.58.

Apple Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $255.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.08. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business's revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple announced a $400M expansion to its U.S. manufacturing program through 2030, aimed at onshoring critical components and strengthening supply-chain resilience — a potential boost to margins and political goodwill. Apple Inc. (AAPL) expands US manufacturing program with $400M investment
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America/BofA coverage kept a Buy rating and a $320 price target, citing accelerating services growth and on‑device AI upside — a supportive analyst note for the stock’s premium multiple. Apple: Accelerating Services Growth and On‑Device AI Upside Support Premium Valuation and Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlights a strategic pivot in Apple’s AI approach that could be constructive long term — the market is parsing whether the move accelerates monetization of on‑device AI and services revenue. Apple's AI Strategy Is Pivoting. Here's Why That Could Be Great News for the Stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: New trading products (prediction markets) are now offering contracts tied to Apple share prices via Pyth price feeds — more retail/derivative activity but no direct company impact. Polymarket expands into equities and commodities with Pyth price feeds
• Neutral Sentiment: 50th‑anniversary coverage and product rumors (e.g., iPhone design leaks, archive stories) are keeping investor sentiment alive but are background noise versus hard financial drivers. Apple's 50-year journey from garage to tech titan
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Amazon is in talks to acquire Globalstar (Apple’s satellite supplier for Emergency SOS/messaging) raise execution and competitive risks for Apple’s satellite features if supplier control shifts. That creates uncertainty around a small but strategic connectivity capability. Amazon Lines Up Deal to Rival SpaceX's Starlink: Report. Why Apple Could Be a Problem.
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical headlines — Iran’s IRGC has named U.S. tech firms including Apple as potential targets — add short‑term operational and sentiment risk, which can weigh on shares in risk-off episodes. Iran threatens Nvidia, Apple and other tech giants with attack
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and positioning worries persist: commentators flag AAPL’s premium P/E and the Magnificent Seven’s underperformance this year; large funds (e.g., a D.E. Shaw trim) have reduced exposure — pressure points for the stock during market rotations. Is Apple Stock Overvalued Or Undervalued? Apple Inc. (AAPL): D. E. Shaw Trims Holding

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.