Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 54.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 445,100 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 531,539 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.5% of Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $121,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Asset One Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,697,000. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in Apple by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 14,293 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 5,263 shares during the last quarter. Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,000. BNB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,612,000. Finally, Ballast Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $378,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple is reportedly preparing a second-generation iPhone Air for spring 2027, with upgrades including a second rear camera and better battery life, reinforcing the company’s longer-term product pipeline. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views after WWDC, arguing Apple’s AI strategy, ecosystem integration, and premium-services monetization could support further upside in AAPL. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: One report said Apple is well positioned to navigate the AI memory crunch because it built up inventory, which could help protect margins versus rivals facing the same component shortage. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple insider Ben Borders sold a small number of shares, but the filing says the sale was mainly to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting, making it less concerning for investors. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Tim Cook said price hikes across Apple’s lineup are “unavoidable” because AI-driven demand is pushing up memory and storage chip costs, raising concerns about margin pressure and possible consumer backlash. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain frustrated with Apple’s slower-than-expected AI rollout, and some coverage says the company still has to prove tangible progress after WWDC rather than just promise future updates. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Italy opened a Digital Markets Act probe into Apple’s cloud interoperability practices, adding a new regulatory overhang in Europe. Article Title

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.59.

Apple Stock Down 1.1%

AAPL opened at $295.95 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.07 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $288.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.09.

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 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.