Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Holdings Lessened by Walker Asset Management LLC

Walker Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,726 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,234 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.8% of Walker Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Walker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s new lawsuit against OpenAI could help protect its hardware roadmap and reinforce its control over proprietary technology, which may support its long-term competitive position. Reuters: Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees for trade secrets theft
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines around Apple’s expanded multi-year chip deal with Broadcom continue to boost sentiment, since the agreement strengthens Apple’s supply chain, supports U.S. manufacturing, and deepens its custom silicon strategy. Yahoo Finance: Apple Secures Largest Ever US Chip Deal With Broadcom For $30 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also named among approved U.S. companies eligible for license-free exports under eased UAE trade rules, which is supportive for international operations but not clearly a near-term stock catalyst. Quiver Quant: U.S. eases export controls on UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, suggesting today’s move is being driven more by news flow than by a shift in bearish positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit also highlights that Apple’s relationship with a major AI player has soured, adding uncertainty around future AI partnerships and potentially distracting management with litigation. Financial Times: Apple sues OpenAI, alleging it stole top-secret information

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.90 on Friday, hitting $315.32. 34,104,441 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 60,736,044. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.13, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $299.55 and a 200-day moving average of $275.26. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.