NatWest Group plc Buys 31,687 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• NatWest Group boosted its Apple stake by 31.2%, acquiring 31,687 shares to hold 133,404 shares worth about $36.27M, making Apple roughly 8.4% of its portfolio and its second‑largest holding.
• Apple beat expectations for the latest quarter with EPS of $2.84 (vs. $2.67 est.) and revenue of $143.76B (vs. $138.25B est.), a 15.7% year‑over‑year revenue increase.
• Insider selling occurred on April 2: SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 30,002 shares and CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares, both transactions executed under pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans.

NatWest Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 31.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 133,404 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 31,687 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 8.4% of NatWest Group plc's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. NatWest Group plc's holdings in Apple were worth $36,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 15.7% in the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $255.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $260.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $263.38.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $297.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% 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.

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

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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