Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 1,327,588 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its Apple stake by 3.6% in Q4, selling 1,327,588 shares and now holds 35,189,550 shares (about 5.6% of the fund and ~0.24% of Apple), valued at roughly $9.57 billion.
• Apple beat Q2 expectations, reporting $2.01 EPS vs $1.95 and $111.18 billion in revenue, and management boosted capital returns with a $100 billion buyback and a dividend increase, underpinning bullish sentiment.
• Analysts raised targets and the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $304.31; Apple trades with a market cap near $4.11 trillion and a one‑year high around $288.62.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,189,550 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,327,588 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 5.6% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Apple worth $9,566,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter worth $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat and June-quarter guidance well above Street expectations, giving investors confidence in near-term sales momentum and margins. Apple stages sharpest rally in 9 months as execs cite iPhone, Mac demand in boosting guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Management expanded capital returns — a large share buyback ($100B) plus a dividend raise — which supports EPS and buyback-driven upside. Apple (AAPL) Stock: Q2 Earnings Beat ... and $100B Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger-than-expected demand in Greater China and for the iPhone 17 and Mac lineup (including Mac Mini demand for AI work) is driving top-line upside and a re-rating by some analysts. Apple's China sales jumped 28%: now analysts are rethinking AAPL
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised price targets and options activity surged, signaling bullish positioning and expectations for further upside. Analyst moves & options flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple signaled it is retiring its net-cash-neutral target — investors interpret this as freeing cash for a potential large AI acquisition, but timing and impact remain speculative. Apple just gave a subtle clue that a splashy AI acquisition may be in the cards
• Neutral Sentiment: Media/services expansion — Apple aims to grow its sports/TV footprint (Formula One content and TV deals), which supports longer-term services revenue diversification but is incremental near term. Apple's Cue expects F1 movie sequel...
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned that the global memory-chip shortage is worsening — that creates a real near-term cost/margin headwind and could force pricing or longer-term supplier commitments. Apple Warns the Memory Shortage Is Getting Worse
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts remain cautious — Wall Street is split on whether the beat is sustainable versus one-time effects (tariff refunds, inventory/timing), leaving valuation and durability questions. Wall Street Splits on Apple After Q2 Beat

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $280.19 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $260.73 and a 200-day moving average of $265.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.25 and a 1-year high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 161.46%. The company's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group set a $296.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $304.31.

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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