Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. Sells 4,166 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. trimmed its Apple stake by 2.4%, selling 4,166 shares and retaining 166,286 shares that make up about 8.1% of its portfolio, valued at roughly $45.21 million.
• Apple is probing U.S. chip production with Intel and Samsung and plans to let users choose third‑party AI models across iOS 27, moves framed as supply‑chain and AI strategy hedges.
• Fundamentals remain solid—Apple beat Q1 estimates (EPS $2.01 vs. $1.95) with revenue up 16.6% and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27—though it faces headline risks including a $250M shareholder settlement and rising memory cost pressures.

Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 166,286 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 4,166 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 8.1% of Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $45,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,908,985 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $790,837,000 after purchasing an additional 142,608 shares in the last quarter. FIDELIS iM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,058,000. Rede Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Rede Wealth LLC now owns 47,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,913,000 after purchasing an additional 5,661 shares in the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,871,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 86,726 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $23,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

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

Apple Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $284.18 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $261.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.51. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.25 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.06. 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 announced 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 net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $304.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple 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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