Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Trims Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,496 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 12,453 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.8% of Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings in Apple were worth $40,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its stake in Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.43.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: China approved Apple Intelligence for iPhones, clearing a major hurdle for Apple’s delayed AI rollout in its biggest international market. Reports also say Alibaba’s Qwen and Baidu models will help power the experience, which should support Apple’s AI adoption story. Alibaba and Baidu shares jump in Hong Kong on Apple AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentators say Apple is benefiting from a “standard oil” style strategy: keep monetizing a massive installed base through hardware, services, and selective ecosystem expansion rather than chasing capital-intensive AI infrastructure. That narrative is helping justify the stock’s record highs. Why Apple’s ‘Standard Oil’ Strategy Is Driving the Stock to All-Time Highs
• Positive Sentiment: Warren Buffett reiterated that Apple remains one of Berkshire Hathaway’s favorite holdings, easing some investor concern about the planned CEO transition from Tim Cook. Warren Buffett Just Reaffirmed Apple as One of His Favorite Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp raised earnings estimates for Apple for several future periods, but kept an Underweight rating and a $250 price target, signaling improving fundamentals while still warning that valuation is rich. Apple Inc. research notes and analyst updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly exploring acquisitions of chip startups to strengthen its AI server and custom silicon efforts. That could help long-term competitiveness, but the impact is still speculative. Apple chasing AI chip company deals, The Information reports
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports say Apple’s iPhone manufacturing costs are rising because of higher component prices, and that could pressure margins if Apple can’t fully offset those costs with pricing or mix improvements. Apple’s New iPhone Is Going to Cost Significantly More Than Last Year
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is also facing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over its China memory-chip sourcing plans, adding a political and supply-chain overhang to the AI and hardware story. AAPL’s China Memory Chip Plans Draw National Security Scrutiny

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $333.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.10. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $302.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $276.70. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $201.50 and a one year high of $334.68.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Apple Company 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.