GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Reduces Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• GLOBALT Investments LLC GA reduced its Apple stake by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,065 shares and leaving it with 121,708 shares valued at about $33.1 million.
• Apple continues to attract strong analyst support, with multiple firms raising or reiterating bullish ratings; the consensus view remains Moderate Buy with a price target of $312.82.
• Apple’s recent results were solid, as it beat earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,708 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,065 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.2% of GLOBALT Investments LLC GA's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA's holdings in Apple were worth $33,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Overbrook Management Corp raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $1,178,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 214,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montis Financial LLC raised its stake in Apple by 15.8% during the third quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 77,919 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $19,841,000 after acquiring an additional 10,640 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $312.82.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $307.34 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $281.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.37. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $195.07 and a 12-month high of $316.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC keynote is expected to highlight a revamped Siri, Apple Intelligence updates, and a broader AI strategy, which could act as a near-term catalyst if the company shows meaningful progress. Will WWDC Drive Apple Stock (AAPL) Higher? Here’s What Analysts Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with Citi reiterating a Buy and Wedbush reaffirming Outperform with a $400 target, citing Apple’s AI inflection point and resilient iPhone fundamentals. Asiya Merchant Reiterates Buy on Apple, Citing AI Strategy Inflection and Resilient iPhone Fundamentals
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store update showed $1.4 trillion in sales and billings last year, reinforcing the scale of its Services ecosystem even as most transactions did not carry a commission. Apple touts $1.4 trillion in App Store billings and sales, 90% without a commission
• Positive Sentiment: Foxconn raised its second-quarter outlook, a constructive signal for Apple’s supply chain and iPhone demand, since Foxconn is Apple’s top iPhone assembler. Taiwan's Foxconn raises guidance for second-quarter outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple may rely on Google cloud infrastructure and Nvidia chips to power a redesigned Siri suggest the company is prioritizing speed to market, but they also underscore that Apple is leaning on outside partners for its AI push. Apple Taps Google to Prep Siri For September Revamp
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns that Apple still faces a high bar to justify its valuation, and UBS noted decelerating App Store growth could pressure the Services growth story if AI execution disappoints. Investors Should Worry About Apple’s (AAPL) Decelerating App Store Growth, Says UBS

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% 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 three months, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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