Manhattan West Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Manhattan West Asset Management cut its Apple stake by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,225 shares and leaving it with 60,189 shares valued at about $16.4 million.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.01 on revenue of $111.18 billion, while revenue rose 16.6% year over year and analysts still expect $8.74 EPS for the full year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, and analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $310.31.

Manhattan West Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,189 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,225 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.3% of Manhattan West Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $16,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming WWDC is expected to showcase a major Siri AI overhaul and broader iOS AI upgrades, reinforcing expectations for a stronger AI product cycle. Apple to Unveil Siri’s AI Overhaul at June Conference
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are increasingly bullish that Apple’s ecosystem could benefit from agentic AI, with Bank of America reportedly lifting its price target and pointing to user identity, payments, and app access as key advantages. Bank of America Raises Its Apple Stock Price Target to $380. Agentic AI Could Be the Upside Driver.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces highlight Apple as a momentum stock and suggest Apple Intelligence could drive iPhone and Mac upgrades, which supports the case for further revenue growth. Apple Intelligence Drives Up iPhone & Mac Sales: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Leak-driven coverage around the iPhone 18 Pro’s rumored colors and camera changes is generating buzz, but it is too early to be a major fundamental stock driver. iPhone 18 Pro dummy units reveal four color options [Gallery] - 9to5Mac
• Negative Sentiment: Some technical commentary warns Apple is approaching long-term resistance and may need a consolidation period after a strong run, which could limit near-term upside. Apple (AAPL) Faces $355 Barrier at Top of Its Multi-Year Uptrend Structure

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $312.06 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.73, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.06. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.07 and a twelve month high of $315.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $253.00 target price (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. 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. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating 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 issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.31.

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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