Synergy Asset Management LLC Trims Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Synergy Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 43.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,308 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 143,636 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 5.2% of Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $50,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LongView Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 59,440 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $15,469,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. now owns 17,049 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,620,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI grew its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 574,417 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $156,161,000 after buying an additional 4,008 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 125,392 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,089,000 after acquiring an additional 7,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CPA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Apple by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. CPA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 17,979 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% 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. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.58.

Apple News Summary

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

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $255.92 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $260.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.15%.

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.