WT Wealth Management Reduces Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• WT Wealth Management cut its Apple stake by 15.4% in Q1, selling 5,254 shares and leaving it with 28,948 shares worth about $7.35 million.
• Despite some mixed positioning from institutional investors, Apple still has broad support on Wall Street, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $314.85.
• Apple’s recent fundamentals remain solid: it beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, raised its dividend slightly, and shares were recently trading near $308.63 after reaching a 52-week high of $317.40.

WT Wealth Management trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 15.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,948 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,254 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.2% of WT Wealth Management's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. WT Wealth Management's holdings in Apple were worth $7,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple plans at least five new iPhone models through early 2027, including a stronger foldable iPhone push, have reinforced expectations for a fresh product cycle and a longer growth runway. Apple plans five new iPhones through 2027, eyes Chinese-made chips amid foldable push, reports say
• Positive Sentiment: Apple also appears to be benefiting from investor optimism that it can navigate the memory-chip shortage and secure supply, including possible deals with lower-cost Chinese chipmakers, which could help protect future production. Apple negotiates with blacklisted Chinese chipmakers amid AI-driven memory crunch
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces said Apple is holding up better than the broader tech sector, with traders viewing recent weakness as a buying opportunity and analysts still pointing to solid upside potential. Apple’s Aggressive Price Hikes Raise Eyebrows As Wall Street Links AI Chip Shortages To Inflation Pressure
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent price hikes on Macs and iPads are being interpreted two ways: as a sign of inflationary component costs, but also as a margin-protection move that may not hurt demand as much as feared. Jim Cramer’s Latest Thought on Apple Inc. (AAPL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s insider-selling activity and mixed institutional positioning are adding caution, but they are not the main driver of the stock today. Apple Stock (AAPL) Opinions on Recent Price Hikes and Analyst Views
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage continues to flag pressure on Apple’s margins and demand if higher component costs force more price increases, which could weigh on sentiment over time. Is Apple stock in trouble? Rising costs threaten margins, demand

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $314.85.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $308.63 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. 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 quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's payout ratio is 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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