Perkins Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Perkins Capital Management cut its Apple stake by 43% in the first quarter, leaving it with 2,650 shares valued at about $673,000.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $2.01 per share on $111.18 billion in revenue, both topping analyst estimates.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Apple, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.85, while the stock recently traded near its 52-week high.

Perkins Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 43.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,650 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Perkins Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $69,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.85.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $315.32 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.50 and a 1 year high of $317.40. The company has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $299.55 and a 200 day moving average of $275.26. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new lawsuit against OpenAI could help protect its hardware roadmap and reinforce its control over proprietary technology, which may support its long-term competitive position. Reuters: Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines around Apple’s expanded multi-year chip deal with Broadcom continue to boost sentiment, since the agreement strengthens Apple’s supply chain, supports U.S. manufacturing, and deepens its custom silicon strategy. Yahoo Finance: Apple Secures Largest Ever US Chip Deal With Broadcom For $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also named among approved U.S. companies eligible for license-free exports under eased UAE trade rules, which is supportive for international operations but not clearly a near-term stock catalyst. Quiver Quant: U.S. eases export controls on UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, suggesting today’s move is being driven more by news flow than by a shift in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit also highlights that Apple’s relationship with a major AI player has soured, adding uncertainty around future AI partnerships and potentially distracting management with litigation. Financial Times: Apple sues OpenAI, alleging it stole top-secret information

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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