NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co Trims Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Northstar Asset Management trimmed its Apple stake by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,886 shares and leaving it with 157,941 shares worth about $42.9 million.
• Apple continues to attract strong institutional interest, with multiple funds increasing their positions and institutional investors still owning about 67.7% of the stock.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, and analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $305.74.

NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,941 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,886 shares during the period. Apple comprises 9.1% of NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. NORTHSTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT Co's holdings in Apple were worth $42,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Overbrook Management Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings 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 grew its holdings in Apple by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Montis Financial LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 77,919 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $19,841,000 after purchasing an additional 10,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Apple by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,915,172,000 after purchasing an additional 214,215 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly preparing major iPhone software changes, including a more customizable Camera app, a rebuilt Siri, and broader interface updates, which investors view as a sign the company is sharpening its product roadmap ahead of future iPhone and WWDC-related announcements. Apple Stock Is Gaining Today: What's Happening Behind The Scenes?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is being helped by rising AI optimism, with commentary highlighting strong iPhone demand, solid Services performance, and potential AI partnerships such as Google Gemini, all of which support the case for continued upside. Ca$htag$: AAPL Hits Record High as AI Optimism Grows
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is also getting support from reports that WWDC could be a major catalyst if it resets the market’s AI expectations and strengthens confidence in future software and ecosystem growth. The Event That Could Redefine Apple’s Summer Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s efforts to expand the App Store for autonomous AI agents suggest the company is trying to capture more of the next wave of AI-powered software while maintaining its security standards. Apple Prepares App Store for Autonomous AI Agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s participation in U.S.-China diplomatic and business discussions could matter for supply-chain and market-access issues, but the near-term financial impact is still uncertain. Trump Arrives in Beijing for High-Stakes Xi Summit Focused on Trade, AI, and Iran
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple is opposing EU AI-related measures and arguing they could hurt privacy and security are more about regulatory positioning than an immediate earnings driver. Apple criticises EU measures to help AI rivals access Google services
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh tariff headlines could keep pressure on Apple’s hardware costs and supply chain if higher import duties remain in place for longer. Appeals Court Temporarily Reinstates Trump’s 10% Global Tariffs
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling, including a modest sale by Ben Borders, may slightly temper sentiment, though it is small relative to Apple’s size and the broader bullish backdrop. SEC insider filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $330.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $305.74.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $298.87 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $263.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.00. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.46 and a 1 year high of $300.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

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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