Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its Apple stake by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 8.83 million shares worth about $2.4 billion. Apple now ranks as the fund’s fourth-largest position.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with multiple analysts raising or reaffirming bullish views and Bank of America lifting its price target to $380 on expectations that Apple could benefit from an emerging AI-driven smartphone market.
• Apple also posted solid fundamentals, reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue in its latest quarter and recently increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,834,896 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 78,281 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.3% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.06% of Apple worth $2,401,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 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: Bank of America raised its price target on Apple to $380 from $330 and kept a Buy rating, saying Apple is well positioned to benefit from the emerging “agentic AI” smartphone market and could unlock substantial new revenue from a redesigned Siri and AI features. Apple seen as key beneficiary of emerging agentic AI smartphone market, BofA says
• Positive Sentiment: Other Wall Street coverage echoed that view, with reports saying Apple is hitting all-time highs as investors expect a deeper AI push at WWDC, which could improve sentiment and support further upside. Apple stock hits all-time high as analysts see AI-driven breakout
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also highlighted strong underlying fundamentals, including record Services revenue and continued strength in iPhone sales, reinforcing the long-term growth case for Apple. Strong Content & Advertising Aids Apple's Services: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple and Google are pushing back against Canada’s proposed police data-access bill, a regulatory issue that could affect the company’s privacy stance but is not an immediate earnings driver. Apple, Google Blast Canada’s Plan to Expand Police Data Powers
• Negative Sentiment: One potential headwind came from an article noting iPhone 17e sales in Japan have slowed versus its predecessor, which could raise questions about demand in some markets. The Real Reason The iPhone 17e Is Falling Behind Its Predecessor In Japan

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Maxim Group upgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.31.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Down 0.2%

AAPL opened at $308.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.28, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $271.87 and a 200-day moving average of $269.16. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $195.07 and a 52 week high of $311.82.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 0.4%. 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%.

About Apple

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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