Walker Asset Management LLC Sells 2,234 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Walker Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,726 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,234 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.8% of Walker Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Walker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Overbrook Management Corp raised its stake in Apple by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,449,000 after buying an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,189,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 108.3% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,880,000 after acquiring an additional 18,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $105,482,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. 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 research report on Friday, April 17th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $315.32. The company had a trading volume of 34,104,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,736,044. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $201.50 and a one year high of $317.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. 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%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple News Summary

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 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.