WealthTrust Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,615 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 1.7% of WealthTrust Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Overbrook Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $363,256,000 after acquiring an additional 465,393 shares during the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management lifted its stake in Apple by 4.3% during the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,496,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,178,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,915,172,000 after acquiring an additional 214,215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $312.82.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $310.26 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $279.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.84. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $195.07 and a 12 month high of $316.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for 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 146.69%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are betting WWDC will showcase major AI upgrades, especially a rebuilt Siri powered by Google’s Gemini models and new iOS payment features that could deepen Apple’s ecosystem and services revenue. Apple’s Gemini-Powered Siri and iOS Payments Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Apple’s AI roadmap and ecosystem strength, with Goldman Sachs reaffirming a Buy rating and a $340 price target, while Evercore raised its target to $365. Apple Buy Rating Reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights Apple stock’s strong run, including reports that it has outperformed the S&P 500 this year and surged in May on enthusiasm for Apple Intelligence. Why Apple Stock Soared 15% in May
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is shifting its mixed-reality strategy toward smart glasses suggest management is re-prioritizing a potentially larger consumer hardware opportunity. Apple to Scrap Vision Pro Successor and Focus on Smart Glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple faces continued competitive pressure from Nvidia’s push into AI PCs and from Walmart’s expanding OnePay payments app, both of which could intensify rivalry in devices and payments. Nvidia takes AI battle from the data centre to the laptop
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro sentiment was softer Wednesday, with major indexes down, but the move was broad-based and not specific to Apple. Review & Preview: Down Day
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also continues to face regulatory overhang, including Reuters reporting that it agreed to submit India financials in a long-running antitrust case, which could raise the risk of penalties. Apple agrees to submit India financials in long-pending antitrust case

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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