Equitable Trust Co. Has $46.87 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Equitable Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 184,683 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,278 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.2% of Equitable Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $46,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $321.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.89, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $305.96 and a 200-day moving average of $278.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $334.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group set a $365.00 target price on Apple in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.83.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford will integrate Apple Maps and Apple software into upcoming lower-cost EVs and self-driving features, expanding Apple’s automotive footprint and creating another potential platform for its services ecosystem. Ford Will Use Apple Software in New Self-Driving System
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple is preparing a smarter shopping assistant for the App Store and testing a more AI-driven buying experience suggest new ways to improve commerce, engagement, and monetization across its ecosystem. Apple Tests Smarter Shopping Experience
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains constructive in places, with Morgan Stanley reportedly raising its Apple target and several pieces arguing Apple could be an underappreciated AI beneficiary as it readies new Macs, iMacs, and other hardware built for AI demand. Apple Plans To Overhaul Computers to Meet AI Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Samsung’s new foldables and the broader “AI hardware” race are keeping Apple in the spotlight, but the news is mostly competitive context rather than a direct near-term catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple lost a key court bid, leaving a $634 million Apple Watch blood-oxygen patent verdict in place, which keeps legal overhangs alive and could raise investor concern about additional costs or product restrictions. Apple Fails to Overturn $634 Million Masimo Verdict
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple market notes point to Apple’s valuation being rich and the stock being vulnerable to volatility into earnings, with some analysts warning that momentum may be peaking after a strong run.

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.