Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Weatherly Asset Management L. P.

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lessened its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 323,858 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,392 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 6.6% of Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Apple were worth $82,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 6.4% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st 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 last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $294.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $291.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.06. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.26 and a 12-month high of $317.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. 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) 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 net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is becoming more optimistic about Apple’s new Siri and AI strategy after the post-WWDC selloff, suggesting investors may be overreacting to near-term skepticism. After an Initial Panic, Wall Street’s Leaning Into Apple’s New Siri AI
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple has agreed to partner with Intel to design and manufacture chips in the U.S. are being viewed as a supply-chain diversification win and a long-term catalyst for Apple’s hardware roadmap. Apple’s Intel Deal Arrives at the Right Time for Its Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Tim Cook’s comments about higher memory costs and upcoming price increases are being interpreted by some analysts as supportive of Apple’s earnings power, since price hikes could help offset component inflation. Apple: Empirical Evidence Suggests Upcoming Price Hikes Will Boost Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s TV and streaming strategy is drawing attention, but the discussion appears more explanatory than immediately material to the stock. Apple Explains TV Library Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks comparison of NVIDIA and Apple highlights Apple’s lower valuation and services strength, reinforcing the stock’s defensive appeal without changing the near-term setup. NVIDIA vs. Apple: Which Tech Titan Is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Britain’s competition tribunal approved a £3 billion class action over iCloud fees, adding a meaningful legal overhang and potential financial liability for Apple. UK tribunal gives go ahead for $4 billion lawsuit against Apple over iCloud services
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces reputational risk after closing its first unionized U.S. store, with the union accusing the company of retaliation. Apple Just Closed Its First Unionized U.S. Store
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say Apple is forcing price increases on hardware because memory and chip costs are rising, which could pressure demand if consumers push back. Memory’s price surge threatens Apple’s ‘magic formula’ — and the economy

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective 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 issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company’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 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. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.