Forbes Financial Planning Inc. Sells 9,784 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Forbes Financial Planning Inc. cut its Apple stake by 33.1% in the first quarter, selling 9,784 shares and leaving it with 19,794 shares worth about $5.0 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mostly positive, with Apple carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $314.85 average price target; several analysts recently reiterated or raised bullish targets.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its dividend slightly, while also facing mixed headlines about price increases tied to higher component costs and insider selling by CEO Tim Cook and other executives.

Forbes Financial Planning Inc. decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 33.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,794 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 9,784 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.9% of Forbes Financial Planning Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Forbes Financial Planning Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $5,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Blankinship & Foster LLC raised its stake in Apple by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC now owns 29,261 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $7,426,000 after purchasing an additional 10,652 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 150,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $38,076,000 after purchasing an additional 26,053 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,784 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,396,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Robbins Farley grew its position in Apple by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 19,399 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,923,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC grew its position in Apple by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 28,475 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,907 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $284.29 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.26 and a 12-month high of $317.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $292.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.17.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. 0.06% of the stock is currently 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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