Webster Bank N. A. Decreases Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Webster Bank N. A. lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 206,100 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,333 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 5.0% of Webster Bank N. A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Apple were worth $52,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Verde Capital Management boosted its position in Apple by 84.7% in the first quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 15,126 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,839,000 after buying an additional 6,936 shares in the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the first quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 103,328 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,224,000 after buying an additional 1,792 shares in the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. now owns 5,458 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. lifted its stake 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. Finally, Kure Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Kure Advisory LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,716,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock valued at $24,998,541. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $284.29 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $292.51 and its 200 day moving average is $273.20. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.26 and a 12-month high of $317.40. 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 has a market cap of $4.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and traders see the recent decline as overdone, arguing that Apple’s pullback has created an attractive entry point and that the stock is oversold at support. Stock Of The Day: Is The Apple Sell-Off Over?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating on AAPL, saying Apple’s pricing and margin-defense strategy supports upside and leaving its $360 target unchanged. Apple Buy Rating Reiterated as Margin Defense Strategy Supports Upside; $360 Price Target Unchanged
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains divided on the broader implications of Apple’s recent price hikes, with some analysts saying the company can pass through costs thanks to its loyal customer base, while others warn the iPhone will be the real test. Apple Can Get Away With Mac Price Hikes, but iPhone Is the Real Test
• Negative Sentiment: Apple raised prices on several Mac and iPad models because surging memory and storage chip costs tied to AI demand are squeezing margins, raising concerns that higher prices could hurt demand and signal more pressure ahead. Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also lost a key Vision Pro hardware executive to OpenAI, adding to investor concern about execution in its spatial-computing and AI efforts. Apple (AAPL) Loses Key Vision Pro Hardware Chief to OpenAI in Major Talent Blow

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

Apple 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.