MIdWestOne Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

MIdWestOne Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 129,033 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,201 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.9% of MIdWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. MIdWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $35,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Overbrook Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 38,174 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.3% during the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $1,178,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,915,172,000 after purchasing an additional 214,215 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 5.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,246,305 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $572,168,000 after purchasing an additional 116,960 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $295.63 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $195.07 and a one year high of $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.75, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.14.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.59.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple unveiled a much more capable Siri AI and broader iOS/macOS upgrades, reinforcing the company’s AI strategy and supporting a longer-term growth narrative. Siri upgrades show promise, but questions remain
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts lifted earnings expectations or reiterated confidence after WWDC, suggesting Apple’s fundamentals and services/iPhone ecosystem still support the stock. Analyst estimate updates
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighted Apple’s strong cash flow, low debt, and momentum, with some commentary pointing to potential upside if the next iPhone cycle and services growth accelerate. Does Apple Stock Have More Upside?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also cited as a “top stock” in Ken Griffin’s portfolio, which is supportive for sentiment but not a direct new catalyst. Apple Inc. (AAPL) Is A Top Stock In Ken Griffin’s Portfolio
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the AI reveal, multiple reports said investors were underwhelmed because much of the rollout looks incremental and some Siri features may not feel fully differentiated yet. Apple Unveils Siri AI. Here’s Why It’s Not Impressing Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and options commentary pointed to caution, suggesting some traders still see limited near-term upside after the post-WWDC pullback. Option Activity Suggests Caution On Apple’s Intermediate-Term Outlook

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.