Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 635,958 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 27,013 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.1% of Country Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $172,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Apple by 14.8% in 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 last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 4.2% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Apple by 2.4% in 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $303.06.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $273.43 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $264.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.25 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.15%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’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 value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to Apple naming John Ternus as CEO has been upbeat — investors and some analysts view his hardware pedigree as a credible path to accelerate device‑level AI and product innovation, supporting near‑term confidence in AAPL. Ternus the Page: Apple’s Engineering Prodigy Takes the Reins
• Positive Sentiment: Apple patched a high‑profile iPhone notification bug that exposed deleted messages; the security fix lifted sentiment around privacy and product quality and coincided with an intraday stock bounce. Apple (AAPL) Stock Climbs as iPhone Notification Bug Gets Patched
• Positive Sentiment: Channel and shipment data show strong iPhone demand (notably China) and some broker notes (e.g., Bank of America commentary) expect iPhone 17 demand to support upcoming results — a fundamental tailwind ahead of earnings. Apple gets a stunning boost as smartphone rivals stumble
• Neutral Sentiment: April 30 earnings are the next major catalyst — previews and options activity show investors positioning for a beat/miss outcome; that event could swing AAPL materially in either direction. Apple Q2 Earnings Preview: Is AAPL Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst notes: some firms reaffirm positive ratings while others flag valuation/AI execution risks — the street is split, so analyst chatter is supporting volume but not a clear directional consensus. Wedbush Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Apple
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a broader leadership exodus and that chip chief Johny Srouji is “seriously considering” leaving pose execution risk — losing senior hardware/AI talent could undermine product roadmaps during an AI pivot. Apple rocked by executive departures, with chip chief at risk of leaving next
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk surfaces in India where an accelerated antitrust probe into App Store rules could lead to structural changes or multibillion penalties — a material long‑term profit and policy risk for Apple’s services franchise. Indian Antitrust Push Tests Apple App Store Model And Valuation Narrative

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.