Graphene Investments SAS Sells 5,400 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Graphene Investments SAS cut its Apple stake by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,400 shares and leaving it with 24,000 shares worth about $6.53 million. Apple remains its second-largest holding and makes up roughly 4.1% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported a strong quarterly beat, posting $2.01 EPS on $111.18 billion in revenue, both above expectations, and also lifted its dividend while approving a $100 billion buyback.
• Sentiment around the stock remains constructive: analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $308.74, even as some insiders recently sold shares and the stock trades near its 52-week high.

Graphene Investments SAS lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,400 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 4.1% of Graphene Investments SAS's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Graphene Investments SAS's holdings in Apple were worth $6,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $298.21 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.46 and a fifty-two week high of $300.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.25. The company has a market cap of $4.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $253.00 target price (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.74.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter was a clear beat, with revenue of $111.18 billion and EPS of $2.01 topping expectations, while management also approved a fresh $100 billion buyback and raised the dividend.
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its price target on Apple to $365 from $330 and reiterated an Outperform rating, citing strong Services growth and long-term earnings/free-cash-flow compounding.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor enthusiasm remains elevated around Apple’s AI roadmap, with reports pointing to WWDC as a potential catalyst and broader expectations that Apple can monetize AI through devices and Services.
• Positive Sentiment: China-related headlines may also help sentiment, as Xi Jinping told U.S. CEOs including Tim Cook that China will “open wider,” easing some concerns about Apple’s supply chain and market access.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly exploring new AI-agent support in the App Store and additional iOS features, which could support the ecosystem but are still early-stage product rumors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Security reports about vulnerabilities found in macOS/iOS are a reminder of cyber risks, but they do not yet appear to be a material earnings issue.
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI is reportedly considering legal action against Apple over their ChatGPT partnership, raising the risk of a public dispute around Apple’s AI strategy.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling and a reported Foxconn ransomware incident may slightly temper sentiment, though neither looks large enough to outweigh the bullish earnings and analyst upgrades.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

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.