St. Clair Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• St. Clair Advisors LLC trimmed its Apple stake by 2.9% in the first quarter, selling 2,429 shares and leaving it with 81,796 shares worth about $20.76 million.
• Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.01 versus $1.95 expected and revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, while analysts still rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a target price around $314.85.

St. Clair Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,796 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,429 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.5% of St. Clair Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. St. Clair Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $20,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,659,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $315.32 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.50 and a 1 year high of $317.40. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $299.55 and its 200-day moving average is $275.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business 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 boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new lawsuit against OpenAI could help protect its hardware roadmap and reinforce its control over proprietary technology, which may support its long-term competitive position. Reuters: Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines around Apple’s expanded multi-year chip deal with Broadcom continue to boost sentiment, since the agreement strengthens Apple’s supply chain, supports U.S. manufacturing, and deepens its custom silicon strategy. Yahoo Finance: Apple Secures Largest Ever US Chip Deal With Broadcom For $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also named among approved U.S. companies eligible for license-free exports under eased UAE trade rules, which is supportive for international operations but not clearly a near-term stock catalyst. Quiver Quant: U.S. eases export controls on UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, suggesting today’s move is being driven more by news flow than by a shift in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit also highlights that Apple’s relationship with a major AI player has soured, adding uncertainty around future AI partnerships and potentially distracting management with litigation. Financial Times: Apple sues OpenAI, alleging it stole top-secret information

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Maxim Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, KGI Securities lowered shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $314.85.

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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