Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 559,986 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 14,784 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.4% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $142,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Apple

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

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $315.32 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $299.55 and its 200 day moving average is $275.29. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.50 and a 1-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. The company has a market cap of $4.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.85.

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.