Columbia Asset Management decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 199,639 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,704 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 9.6% of Columbia Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $54,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
Apple Stock Performance
AAPL stock opened at $298.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $266.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $267.88. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $303.20. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.06.
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. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.
Trending Headlines about Apple
Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Apple is rolling out new Apple Intelligence features, including AI-powered accessibility tools and planned iOS 27 upgrades such as smarter writing help, Shortcuts improvements, and wallpaper features, reinforcing the view that AI can drive the next phase of growth. Apple announces Apple Intelligence powered accessibility feature updates
- Positive Sentiment: Multiple recent articles highlight Apple’s Services business as a major profit engine, suggesting investors are starting to value Apple less as just an iPhone maker and more as a higher-margin platform company. AAPL: Forget the iPhone—Services Will Drive the Next Phase of Growth
- Positive Sentiment: Apple remains near record levels, with commentary pointing to strong iPhone and Services performance and analyst targets well above current trading ranges, which supports the bullish valuation narrative. Apple Trades Close to 52-Week High: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
- Positive Sentiment: Institutional investors continue to add Apple exposure, including a new near-$1 billion stake from Viking Global, signaling ongoing big-money confidence in AAPL. Viking Global Opens Fresh Apple Stake Worth Nearly $1 Billion As Big Tech Trade Roars Back
- Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s return of Fortnite to the App Store removes one high-profile friction point, but it also keeps attention on Apple’s App Store control and ongoing platform disputes. Fortnite Returns to the App Store Amid Clashes With Apple
- Negative Sentiment: An Indian court ordered Apple to fully cooperate in an App Store antitrust probe, adding to regulatory risk around Apple’s platform practices and potential penalties. Indian court tells Apple to ‘cooperate’ in antitrust case
- Negative Sentiment: Samsung and Google unveiled AI smart glasses to challenge Meta and Apple, underscoring intensifying competition in next-generation consumer AI hardware. Samsung and Google Announce AI Smart Glasses to Challenge Meta and Apple
- Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Apple’s global Formula 1 streaming ambitions may take time to expand beyond the U.S. because of differing international media-rights cycles, limiting the near-term boost from that deal. After U.S. deal, Apple’s global F1 push may take time
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.74.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.
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.
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