Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Lowers Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank trimmed its Apple stake by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 254,277 shares. Even after the cut, Apple remained its second-largest holding, worth about $2.42 billion.
• Wall Street sentiment is still broadly positive, with several firms lifting price targets and Apple holding a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.” The average target price cited was $308.74, while Tigress Financial raised its target to $375.
• Apple’s latest results and shareholder returns were strong, as the company reported earnings and revenue above expectations, boosted its dividend, and authorized a new $100 billion share buyback. The stock was also trading near its 52-week high after the report.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,886,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 254,277 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.2% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.06% of Apple worth $2,415,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. KGI Securities raised Apple to an "outperform" rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.74.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s post-earnings rally continues after the company posted record quarterly revenue and EPS, boosted its dividend, and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analysts say the results support further upside and have raised price targets. Apple Stock Hits All-Time High as Post-Earnings Rally Continues
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Apple to $365 and said a bull-case scenario could reach $500, citing compounding growth from Services and Apple’s ability to keep expanding free cash flow. Evercore ISI Hikes Apple Price Target to $365
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being helped by reports that iPhone demand remains strong globally, plus Soros Fund Management reportedly boosted its Apple position during the quarter. George Soros’s fund buys Berkshire Hathaway stock — now that Buffett is gone
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut iPhone 17 prices in China ahead of the 618 shopping festival, which could help support unit sales in a key market. Apple Cuts iPhone 17 Prices in China
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is considering legal action over its strained ChatGPT partnership with Apple, which adds uncertainty around Apple’s AI strategy and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. OpenAI explores legal options against Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic’s Mythos AI found vulnerabilities in Apple’s macOS/iOS are a reminder of ongoing security scrutiny, but the news is more reputational than fundamentally financial for now. Anthropic's Mythos Helped Find Bugs in Apple's Desktop Operating System

Apple Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $300.23 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.46 and a 52-week high of $303.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.30, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $265.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.48.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 $34,934,433.50. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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