Putney Financial Group LLC Trims Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Putney Financial Group trimmed its Apple stake by 2.4% in Q4 to 92,934 shares (worth $25.27M), with Apple making up 23.6% of the firm's portfolio as its largest holding.
• Apple is exploring using Intel and Samsung to build main device chips in the U.S. and will let users choose third‑party AI models in iOS 27, while reporting a March‑quarter earnings beat and raising the quarterly dividend to $0.27.
• Insiders have been net sellers (CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares; CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534), institutional ownership stands near 67.7%, and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $304.31 price target.

Putney Financial Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,934 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,295 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 23.6% of Putney Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Putney Financial Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $25,265,000 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 the stock. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 43 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 held exploratory talks with Intel and Samsung about making its main device processors in the U.S., which reduces single-supplier (TSMC) risk and is being priced as a supply-chain hedge by investors. Apple explores using Intel, Samsung to build main device chips in the US
• Positive Sentiment: Apple plans to let users choose third‑party AI models across iOS 27 features and is positioning devices as AI platforms — a strategic move that broadens the company’s AI roadmap without having to rely solely on its in-house models. Apple to let users choose rival AI models across iOS 27 features
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain solid: strong March-quarter results, continued iPhone strength (iPhone 17 cited as top seller in Q1), services momentum, and shareholder returns (dividend and a large buyback) support the stock’s rally. iPhone 17 Rules, Becomes World's Best-Selling Smartphone
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports emphasize these chip talks are preliminary with no orders placed; switching foundries involves technology, scale and reliability tradeoffs, so any supply-chain benefit will depend on formal contracts and ramp timelines. Apple explores Intel, Samsung as U.S. chip suppliers
• Negative Sentiment: Apple agreed to a $250M settlement in a shareholder suit over delayed Siri/Apple Intelligence features — a headline risk and cash outflow that briefly pressures sentiment. Apple settles lawsuit over late Siri AI features for $250 million
• Negative Sentiment: Management has warned that rising memory (RAM) costs tied to AI needs could raise hardware prices and weigh on margins — a structural cost pressure to monitor. Apple's Tim Cook says AI-fueled 'RAMmageddon' will make your next laptop and phone a lot pricier

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $304.31.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 2.7%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $284.18 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.25 and a twelve month high of $288.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50 day moving average is $261.12 and its 200 day moving average is $265.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.58%.

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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