William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $1.48 Billion Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management cut its Apple stake by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, but it still held 5.44 million shares valued at about $1.48 billion. Apple remains its fourth-largest position and makes up roughly 4.1% of its portfolio.
• Apple’s recent quarter beat expectations, reporting EPS of $2.01 on $111.18 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 16.6% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Apple, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $312.82. However, some note valuation concerns and slower App Store growth as potential risks if Apple’s AI push underdelivers.

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,444,328 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 176,125 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.1% of William Blair Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,480,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $112,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC keynote is expected to highlight a revamped Siri, Apple Intelligence updates, and a broader AI strategy, which could act as a near-term catalyst if the company shows meaningful progress. Will WWDC Drive Apple Stock (AAPL) Higher? Here’s What Analysts Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with Citi reiterating a Buy and Wedbush reaffirming Outperform with a $400 target, citing Apple’s AI inflection point and resilient iPhone fundamentals. Asiya Merchant Reiterates Buy on Apple, Citing AI Strategy Inflection and Resilient iPhone Fundamentals
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store update showed $1.4 trillion in sales and billings last year, reinforcing the scale of its Services ecosystem even as most transactions did not carry a commission. Apple touts $1.4 trillion in App Store billings and sales, 90% without a commission
• Positive Sentiment: Foxconn raised its second-quarter outlook, a constructive signal for Apple’s supply chain and iPhone demand, since Foxconn is Apple’s top iPhone assembler. Taiwan's Foxconn raises guidance for second-quarter outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple may rely on Google cloud infrastructure and Nvidia chips to power a redesigned Siri suggest the company is prioritizing speed to market, but they also underscore that Apple is leaning on outside partners for its AI push. Apple Taps Google to Prep Siri For September Revamp
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns that Apple still faces a high bar to justify its valuation, and UBS noted decelerating App Store growth could pressure the Services growth story if AI execution disappoints. Investors Should Worry About Apple’s (AAPL) Decelerating App Store Growth, Says UBS

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $253.00 price target (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $312.82.

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

Apple stock opened at $307.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.07 and a fifty-two week high of $316.94. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $281.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.37.

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. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

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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