J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. cut its Apple stake by 1.0% in Q4, selling 4,928 shares to hold 476,888 shares worth about $129.65M, roughly 10.5% of its portfolio and its second-largest holding.
• Insider sales: SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 30,002 shares for ~$7.66M and CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares for ~$16.51M on April 2, both executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Market context: Institutional ownership is 67.73%; Apple has a market cap of $3.76T and a P/E of 32.35, with analysts giving an average target of $297.58 and a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating.

J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 476,888 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,928 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 10.5% of J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $129,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in 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 lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 40,543 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Top investor endorsement — Billionaire Ken Griffin lists Apple among his five best stock picks, highlighting institutional conviction and potential buying support. 5 Best Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Ken Griffin
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing — Bank of America reiterates a Buy and cites accelerating services growth and on‑device AI upside, supporting a premium valuation thesis and positive analyst flow. Apple: Accelerating Services Growth and On‑Device AI Upside Support Premium Valuation and Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. manufacturing boost — Apple expands its U.S. manufacturing program with a reported $400M investment, a politically favorable move that can reduce supply risk and support margin/PR. Apple Inc. (AAPL) expands US manufacturing program with $400M investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive narrative around Apple at 50 — Extensive coverage of Apple’s 50th anniversary reminds investors of the company’s long-term durability, but raises governance/succession questions that are medium‑term rather than catalytic. Apple At 50 Weighs AI Partnerships Satellite Ties And Succession
• Neutral Sentiment: AI positioning debate — Coverage highlights a strategic pivot toward opening Siri to third‑party AI assistants and other AI moves; this reduces long-term AI execution risk but timing and monetization remain uncertain. Apple's AI Strategy Is Pivoting. Here's Why That Could Be Great News for the Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Satellite dependency risk — Reports that Amazon is in talks to buy Globalstar (Apple’s satellite partner for Emergency SOS/messaging) raise competitive and supply‑chain uncertainty for Apple’s satellite features. Amazon Lines Up Deal to Rival SpaceX's Starlink: Report. Why Apple Could Be a Problem.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation pressure — Commentary points to a rich trailing and forward P/E (high 20s–30s) that’s prompting profit‑taking and making AAPL sensitive to any slowdown in growth or disappointment on AI execution. Is Apple Stock Overvalued Or Undervalued?
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical / macro risk — Headlines about potential targeting of U.S. tech firms and broader Mag‑7 weakness amplify downside risk if tensions or macro selloffs persist. AAPL Stock on Watch: Iran Threatens Retaliatory Strikes Could Hit Apple Next

Insider Activity at Apple

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

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $255.92 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $260.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.56. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Scotiabank set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $297.58.

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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