Vision Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Vision Capital Management trimmed its Apple stake by 1.5% in Q1, selling 3,483 shares and leaving it with 224,435 shares worth about $56.96 million. Apple remains the firm’s third-largest holding and makes up roughly 7.2% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, beating estimates with EPS of $2.01 on revenue of $111.18 billion, up 16.6% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend slightly to $0.27 per share.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive overall, with Apple holding a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $314.85. However, some analysts have recently been mixed, including at least one downgrade to hold.

Vision Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 224,435 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,483 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 7.2% of Vision Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Vision Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $56,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,675,650. This represents 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 the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $315.32 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $317.40. The company has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 26th. KGI Securities lowered Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.85.

Trending Headlines about 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

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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