Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC Sells 14,822 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC cut its Apple (AAPL) stake by 88.9% in Q4, selling 14,822 shares and leaving 1,848 shares worth about $502,000.
• Corporate insiders also sold sizable holdings: CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares (~$16.5M) and SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 30,002 shares (~$7.66M), both under pre-arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans.
• Apple beat expectations last quarter with $2.84 EPS (vs. $2.67 est.) and $143.76B revenue (up 15.7% y/y), and analysts rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $303.06.

Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 88.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,848 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 14,822 shares during the quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its stake in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of AAPL opened at $266.17 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.25 and a 1 year high of $288.62. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple promoted Johny Srouji to chief hardware officer and consolidated hardware leadership, signaling faster in‑house silicon development and tighter integration across iPhone and Mac — a tailwind for margins and product differentiation. Apple's elevation of Johny Srouji
• Positive Sentiment: China demand is improving: reports show a large year‑over‑year jump in iPhone shipments in China, supporting near‑term revenue and offsetting some macro worries. China iPhone shipments jump 20%
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms reaffirm bullish views (including high price targets) arguing the succession preserves continuity while positioning Apple to leverage hardware + AI — a reason some investors view any dip as a buying opportunity. Analyst reactions and price targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Succession is orderly: Tim Cook will become executive chairman and the board approved the internal promotion, which reduces governance risk versus an external hire. That provides continuity but not an immediate strategic shift. Apple Appoints John Ternus CEO
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent quarterly results and revenue beat still underpin the company’s valuation; earnings coming at month‑end remain an important catalyst. Post‑Cook future and earnings outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction is cautious: headlines emphasizing Apple’s AI “gap” and whether a hardware executive can accelerate AI services have driven selling pressure and wider implied option ranges. WSJ on challenges for John Ternus
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑term technical and derivatives signals: unusual put activity and expanded post‑announcement volatility suggest traders are hedging or betting on a wider post‑transition trading range. Unusual put options activity
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: Apple’s withholding of data in an India antitrust probe remains an unresolved legal overhang that could lead to fines or restrictions in a large market. India antitrust case

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Maxim Group raised Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens set a $315.00 price target on Apple in a report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $303.06.

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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