Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Sold by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. cut its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,188,367 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 17,636 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 4.5% of UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Apple were worth $302,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. lifted its position in Apple by 13.2% during the second quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the second quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,920 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.2% in the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $101,301,000 after buying an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Apple by 48.4% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $363,256,000 after purchasing an additional 465,393 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $263.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.05. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $239.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Maxim Group upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $296.07.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street analysts reiterated Buy ratings and raised targets, highlighting AI upside and services momentum that support a higher long?term valuation. Apple: AI-Driven Upgrade Cycle and $340 Target (Bernstein) Sustained Services Momentum and $325 Target (BofA)
• Positive Sentiment: Product launches emphasize Apple’s AI/device strategy: new M5 MacBook Air/Pro with AI enhancements and an updated Studio Display—these support higher ASPs and longer upgrade cycles for professionals. Apple launches new MacBooks (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Apple broadened its addressable market with a budget iPhone 17e ($599) and refreshed iPad Air—moves that help defend share in price?sensitive markets and support unit volumes. iPhone 17e launch (Reuters)
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest data reported in feeds is unreliable/zeroed out (odd NaN/0 values), so there’s no clear short?squeeze story driving today’s action; ignore until confirmed by exchange filings.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical analysts flagged a severe bearish moving?average crossover, with one commentator warning of a potential pullback toward ~$200—this can amplify selling by momentum/CTA funds. Bearish crossover warning (Finbold)
• Negative Sentiment: High?profile selling by large investors (reports that Warren Buffett trimmed a substantial portion of his Apple stake) is weighing on sentiment and raising questions about near?term demand expectations. Buffett trimmed Apple stake (Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised MacBook prices amid a global memory?chip shortage; while price hikes can protect margins, they risk suppressing unit growth and led to an intra?day stock dip as investors digested demand risk. MacBook price increases (CNBC)

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.