SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• SBI Securities Co. Ltd. cut its Apple stake by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 15,476 shares and ending with 472,812 shares worth about $128.5 million.
• Apple’s latest quarter beat Wall Street expectations, reporting $2.01 EPS and $111.18 billion in revenue, with revenue up 16.6% from a year earlier.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, while analysts remain generally constructive with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.31.

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 472,812 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 15,476 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.3% of SBI Securities Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. SBI Securities Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $128,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 14.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 4.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $315.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50-day moving average is $276.58 and its 200-day moving average is $270.28. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $195.07 and a one year high of $315.45. 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 issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of WWDC, with Apple expected to unveil key AI features that could improve Siri and strengthen its software ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s MacBook Neo is reportedly gaining traction with new buyers, suggesting the company is still expanding its hardware appeal beyond its core customer base. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been lifting targets on AAPL ahead of WWDC, reflecting confidence that Apple’s AI strategy and software roadmap could reaccelerate growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: New Apple Wallet bill-splitting and payment-request features may help deepen engagement, but the immediate stock impact is less clear because the move is incremental rather than transformative. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is being discussed as a potentially overvalued stock after its recent rally, which could limit upside if WWDC disappoints expectations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Dell and Nvidia have intensified competition in PCs and laptops, pressuring Apple’s positioning in hardware categories like the MacBook Neo. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $253.00 target price (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given 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 an average target price of $310.31.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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