ProVise Management Group LLC Sells 2,210 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• ProVise Management Group trimmed its Apple stake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,210 shares and leaving it with 73,679 shares valued at about $20.0 million.
• Apple reported strong recent results, with quarterly EPS of $2.01 and revenue of $111.18 billion, both above Wall Street expectations and up 16.6% year over year.
• Despite some insider selling and a few cautious valuation notes, analysts remain broadly positive on Apple, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of about $308.74.

ProVise Management Group LLC cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,679 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,210 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.4% of ProVise Management Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. ProVise Management Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $20,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its position in shares of Apple by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $112,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last 90 days. 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: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $308.82 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $311.40. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $269.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Stephens set a $315.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $308.74.

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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