Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. trimmed its Apple stake by 5.2% in Q4, selling 1,484,246 shares to hold 26,896,166 shares worth about $7.312 billion, making Apple its fourth-largest position (~2.4% of its holdings).
• Apple beat Q2 expectations with $111.2B in revenue and $2.01 EPS, issued a strong Q3 revenue guide (up 14–17% YoY), added $100B to its buyback and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.27.
• Insiders sold shares during the quarter (including CFO Kevan Parekh and CEO Tim Cook) while several institutional investors increased positions (e.g., Overbrook +57.4%, Citizens +48.4%), and institutional ownership stands at about 67.7%.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,896,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,484,246 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 2.4% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.18% of Apple worth $7,311,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Overbrook Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $101,301,000 after purchasing an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Apple by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $363,256,000 after purchasing an additional 465,393 shares during the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management lifted its holdings in Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $25,496,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 734,485 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $187,022,000 after buying an additional 27,445 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat on top and bottom lines — Apple reported $111.2B revenue and $2.01 adjusted EPS, topping Street estimates and signaling continued demand momentum. Apple's Stock Climbs on a Rosy Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management says iPhone 17 demand is “extraordinary”; iPhone revenue rose strongly and the active installed base hit records — supports durable hardware growth. Apple Sales Top $111 Billion in Second Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Strong forward guide — Apple guided fiscal Q3 revenue up 14–17% YoY (above consensus), and raised profit guidance; that drove the most immediate upside reaction. Apple Stock Jumps on Revenue Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Capital return ramp — Apple added $100B to its buyback program and signaled shareholder-friendly distributions, which supports EPS and investor sentiment. Apple adds $100 billion to its share buyback program
• Neutral Sentiment: Services and Mac strength — Services hit an all-time quarterly high (~$30B) and Macs saw AI-driven demand, diversifying revenue beyond iPhone. Apple was surprised by AI-driven demand for Macs
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership transition spotlight — Tim Cook introduced incoming CEO John Ternus on the earnings call; investors see a smooth handoff but will watch execution under new leadership. Incoming Apple CEO John Ternus Makes Wall Street Cameo
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and supply headwinds — Management warned memory costs will increasingly impact the business and said supply constraints limited some iPhone shipments; that could pressure margins and near-term unit growth. Cook: Memory Costs Will Be Increasing Impact On Our Business
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk — Apple is in a tense dispute with India’s antitrust body over document requests; prolonged fights or fines could be a headline risk in key markets. Apple says India antitrust body overstepping judicial authority
• Negative Sentiment: Product execution concerns — reports that Vision Pro priority has been dialed back and mixed commentary on longer-term AI positioning leave some investors wanting clearer strategy/roadmap. Apple Has Given Up on the Vision Pro After M5 Refresh Flop

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $301.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of 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 have sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $271.35 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $260.73 and its 200 day moving average is $265.02. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.25 and a twelve month high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 13.15%.

Apple 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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