Vest Financial LLC lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 310,464 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 11,865 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 1.1% of Vest Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $84,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 15.7% during the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 40,543 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Apple
Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Apple to $380 from $330 and kept a Buy rating, saying agentic AI could strengthen Apple’s ecosystem and create meaningful new revenue opportunities.
- Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple is preparing a major Siri overhaul for WWDC, including a new app-like experience designed to compete more directly with ChatGPT-style assistants, which could improve sentiment around Apple’s AI roadmap.
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentary continue to argue that Apple’s installed base, privacy controls, payments, and device ownership give it a strong position if AI assistants become a primary interface for search, commerce, and productivity.
- Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s stock is already near record territory, so some of the optimism around AI and WWDC may already be reflected in the share price.
- Negative Sentiment: Some articles note that Apple is still viewed by parts of the market as an AI laggard versus rivals, and that its valuation is already rich, which could limit upside if WWDC disappoints.
Apple Price Performance
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 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. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.31.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AAPL
Insider Transactions at Apple
In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
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.
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