John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Reduces Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• John G. Ullman & Associates cut its Apple stake by 14.4% in the first quarter, selling 2,405 shares and retaining 14,353 shares valued at approximately $3.64 million. Other institutional investors increased their positions, with institutions collectively owning 67.73% of Apple.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Apple receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $331.60. Recent targets range from $300 to $400, although some firms lowered their estimates.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $2.02 per share on $109.42 billion in revenue, exceeding estimates and representing 16.4% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% yield.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,353 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,405 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $3,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the first quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 21,832 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,541,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. SK Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 5.0% during the first quarter. SK Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,995 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,140,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 29,522 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,492,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.2% during the first quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 177,919 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $45,154,000 after purchasing an additional 10,352 shares during the period. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 108,275 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $27,479,000 after buying an additional 22,193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 5th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down from $370.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $331.60.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $308.91 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $201.50 and a one year high of $344.57. The company's fifty day moving average is $309.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported record June-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and diluted EPS of $2.02, exceeding Wall Street expectations. iPhone revenue rose 22% to $54.3 billion, while Mac revenue increased 29% to $10.4 billion. Apple reports third quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s large installed base, strong hardware demand and potential consumer-AI opportunities remain long-term supports. Some analysts remain bullish: TD Cowen raised its price target to $400, while other firms maintained Buy or Overweight ratings despite trimming estimates. Analyst raises Apple price target
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, payable August 13 to shareholders of record August 10. Apple also continues to emphasize an AI strategy that requires less capital spending than the infrastructure-heavy approach used by some peers. Apple Q3 financial results

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company 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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