Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Timothy Cook Sells 64,949 Shares

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Timothy Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock remained flat at $255.92 during mid-day trading on Friday. 31,257,484 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,994,768. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $288.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $260.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Apple from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Overbrook Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,449,000 after acquiring an additional 38,174 shares during the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 4.6% in the second quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,920 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 2.2% during the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $101,301,000 after purchasing an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Apple by 48.4% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $363,256,000 after purchasing an additional 465,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tufton Capital Management grew its stake in Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,496,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Top investor endorsement — Billionaire Ken Griffin lists Apple among his five best stock picks, highlighting institutional conviction and potential buying support. 5 Best Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Ken Griffin
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing — Bank of America reiterates a Buy and cites accelerating services growth and on‑device AI upside, supporting a premium valuation thesis and positive analyst flow. Apple: Accelerating Services Growth and On‑Device AI Upside Support Premium Valuation and Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. manufacturing boost — Apple expands its U.S. manufacturing program with a reported $400M investment, a politically favorable move that can reduce supply risk and support margin/PR. Apple Inc. (AAPL) expands US manufacturing program with $400M investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive narrative around Apple at 50 — Extensive coverage of Apple’s 50th anniversary reminds investors of the company’s long-term durability, but raises governance/succession questions that are medium‑term rather than catalytic. Apple At 50 Weighs AI Partnerships Satellite Ties And Succession
• Neutral Sentiment: AI positioning debate — Coverage highlights a strategic pivot toward opening Siri to third‑party AI assistants and other AI moves; this reduces long-term AI execution risk but timing and monetization remain uncertain. Apple’s AI Strategy Is Pivoting. Here’s Why That Could Be Great News for the Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Satellite dependency risk — Reports that Amazon is in talks to buy Globalstar (Apple’s satellite partner for Emergency SOS/messaging) raise competitive and supply‑chain uncertainty for Apple’s satellite features. Amazon Lines Up Deal to Rival SpaceX’s Starlink: Report. Why Apple Could Be a Problem.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation pressure — Commentary points to a rich trailing and forward P/E (high 20s–30s) that’s prompting profit‑taking and making AAPL sensitive to any slowdown in growth or disappointment on AI execution. Is Apple Stock Overvalued Or Undervalued?
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical / macro risk — Headlines about potential targeting of U.S. tech firms and broader Mag‑7 weakness amplify downside risk if tensions or macro selloffs persist. AAPL Stock on Watch: Iran Threatens Retaliatory Strikes Could Hit Apple Next

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.