Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Lowered by North Star Asset Management Inc.

North Star Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 354,142 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,853 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.9% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $96,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 95,460 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,952,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Darden Wealth Group Inc grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Darden Wealth Group Inc now owns 34,876 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,482,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Clune & Associates LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Clune & Associates LTD. now owns 33,389 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,077,000 after acquiring an additional 5,806 shares in the last quarter. Tiff Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Tiff Advisory Services LLC now owns 174,002 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $47,304,000 after acquiring an additional 18,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 636,854 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $173,135,000 after acquiring an additional 37,900 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $307.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $281.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $195.07 and a twelve month high of $316.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s WWDC keynote is expected to highlight a revamped Siri, Apple Intelligence updates, and a broader AI strategy, which could act as a near-term catalyst if the company shows meaningful progress. Will WWDC Drive Apple Stock (AAPL) Higher? Here’s What Analysts Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with Citi reiterating a Buy and Wedbush reaffirming Outperform with a $400 target, citing Apple’s AI inflection point and resilient iPhone fundamentals. Asiya Merchant Reiterates Buy on Apple, Citing AI Strategy Inflection and Resilient iPhone Fundamentals
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s App Store update showed $1.4 trillion in sales and billings last year, reinforcing the scale of its Services ecosystem even as most transactions did not carry a commission. Apple touts $1.4 trillion in App Store billings and sales, 90% without a commission
• Positive Sentiment: Foxconn raised its second-quarter outlook, a constructive signal for Apple’s supply chain and iPhone demand, since Foxconn is Apple’s top iPhone assembler. Taiwan’s Foxconn raises guidance for second-quarter outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Apple may rely on Google cloud infrastructure and Nvidia chips to power a redesigned Siri suggest the company is prioritizing speed to market, but they also underscore that Apple is leaning on outside partners for its AI push. Apple Taps Google to Prep Siri For September Revamp
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage warns that Apple still faces a high bar to justify its valuation, and UBS noted decelerating App Store growth could pressure the Services growth story if AI execution disappoints. Investors Should Worry About Apple’s (AAPL) Decelerating App Store Growth, Says UBS

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $253.00 price target (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $312.82.

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.