PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd boosted its Apple stake by 480.5% in Q4 to 7,895 shares (an additional 6,535 shares), worth $2.146 million and representing 2.6% of the fund's portfolio (its 14th largest holding).
• Apple beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.84 EPS vs. $2.67 expected and $143.76 billion revenue (up 15.7% YoY), with analysts maintaining a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a $301.37 target.
• Corporate insiders sold stock on April 2 under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans: SVP Deirdre O'Brien sold 30,002 shares and CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares, modestly reducing their holdings.

PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 480.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,895 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 6,535 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.6% of PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $2,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $99,000. Finally, Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $258.75 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $189.81 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $260.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 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, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (down from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $301.37.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $325 and kept a "buy" rating, citing strong iPhone momentum, Services growth and favorable FX — a bullish catalyst ahead of Apple's earnings. Apple price target raised ahead of earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon's $11.6B acquisition of Globalstar redraws the satellite connectivity landscape Apple relies on for iPhone/Watch emergency features; Apple has secured continuity for service but faces strategic exposure to a competitor-controlled network. Amazon Buys Globalstar
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say iPhone Fold production was pushed back but the launch remains on track for fall 2026 — a delay risk for supply/timing but still keeps the new product narrative intact. iPhone Fold Production Pushed Back
• Negative Sentiment: A fake Ledger Live app on the App Store was tied to roughly $9.5M in crypto thefts — raises fresh questions about App Store review controls and potential regulatory scrutiny. Fake Ledger Live app drained $9.5M
• Negative Sentiment: Apple will close three retail stores — including its first unionized location — prompting union-busting claims and potential PR/regulatory headlines. Apple closing 3 stores
• Negative Sentiment: Apple's head of AI is reportedly leaving the company, which adds pressure as investors watch Apple’s ability to execute on generative-AI features and products. Apple head of AI is leaving

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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