Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Washington Trust Bank

Washington Trust Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 261,659 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 12,414 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.9% of Washington Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $66,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its stake in Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 4.1%

Apple stock opened at $270.05 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $268.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $288.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $276.47 price target on Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stephens set a $315.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.41.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong iPhone 17 demand drove better-than-expected Q1 results and margin expansion, supporting upgrades and a more bullish outlook for revenue and profitability. The iPhone 17 Changed Everything For Apple – See China (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Big banks reiterated bullish calls (Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan) citing continued iPhone 17 strength — analyst support is lifting sentiment and contributed to price-target increases. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Bullish on Apple Inc. (AAPL) on Strong iPhone 17 Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages raised price targets and upgraded Apple after the quarter, adding buy-side momentum and helping push the stock higher. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $315.00
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI launched a Codex coding-assistant app for Apple computers, highlighting tighter AI app integration in the Mac ecosystem and potential demand/support for Mac hardware and services. OpenAI Unveils Codex App for Use with Apple (AAPL) Computers
• Positive Sentiment: Report that Apple acquired Israeli AI/audio startup Q.ai (≈$2B) strengthens the company’s AI content/capability pipeline and supports the AI narrative. Apple Inc. (AAPL) Acquires Israeli Startup Q.ai For Approximately $2 Billion: Report
• Neutral Sentiment: T. Rowe Price launched an active Innovation Leaders ETF that lists Apple as a core holding — potential incremental passive/active inflows but not immediate earnings impact. Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft Anchor T. Rowe Price’s New Active ETF Targeting Innovators
• Neutral Sentiment: India’s policy allowing foreign-funded equipment for contract manufacturers is a structural win for Apple’s India build-out and long-term cost/scale — supports supply diversification. India hands Apple a win by letting foreign firms fund equipment for manufacturers
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in the feed are effectively zero/erroneous and aren’t influencing the move; no clear short-squeeze signal from this data. (Source: short-interest entry)
• Negative Sentiment: Supply risk: TSMC’s capacity shift toward AI chips (Nvidia demand) could squeeze Apple’s wafer allocations and exacerbate chip constraints, a risk to near-term production and inventory. Nvidia’s AI Takeover Leaves Apple Fighting For Supply
• Negative Sentiment: Talent and margin pressure: reports of AI researcher departures and commentary that rising AI-driven parts demand could lift component costs create medium-term execution and margin risks. Apple Loses More AI Researchers to Meta and Google The AI Boom Is Coming for Apple’s Profit Margins

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.