Apple Inc. $AAPL Holdings Lifted by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,235,955 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 144,973 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.9% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $336,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 365 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.59.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Services business posted record revenue in the fiscal second quarter, supported by ecosystem growth, AI-related updates, and its huge installed device base. Apple Continues to Expand Services Business: What’s the Path Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentators said Apple still has strong fundamentals, including a solid balance sheet, loyal customer base, and products investors continue to love, which supports the long-term bull case. Jim Cramer on Apple: “It Still Has Products We All Love”
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Apple, signaling expectations for steady profit growth over the next two fiscal years. Apple earnings estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC announcements showed a clearer AI roadmap, including next-generation Siri features and device software updates, but the market appears to be waiting for stronger evidence that these changes will drive meaningful revenue growth. Apple Unveils Siri AI. Here’s Why It’s Not Impressing Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggested Apple’s AI launch could help the stock over time, but it may take more than Siri upgrades alone to restore investor enthusiasm. Apple Just Gave Investors a Glimpse of Is AI Future at WWDC. It May Take More to Revive AAPL Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are worried Apple’s AI ambitions are colliding with a memory-cost crunch, creating pricing pressure that could weigh on margins. Apple Faces a No-Win Pricing Dilemma. Should Investors Be Worried?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say the market was disappointed that Apple’s Siri AI reveal did not feel like a big enough breakthrough to justify a sharper rerating of the stock. Apple’s AI News Underwhelms. Siri AI Release Concerns Persist.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $291.13 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $285.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.20, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $195.07 and a one year high of $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

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.