Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Trimmed by Montag A & Associates Inc.

Montag A & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 295,181 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,583 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.5% of Montag A & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $74,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. UBS Group set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.43.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $326.59 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $304.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $277.50. 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 $4.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.49, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $334.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple Intelligence reportedly received regulatory approval in China, potentially opening the door for a major new AI growth catalyst in one of Apple’s most important markets. Apple Intelligence Just Got the Green Light in China. What That Means for AAPL Stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and Morgan Stanley both reiterated constructive views on Apple (AAPL) ahead of July 30 earnings, with analysts saying the company should beat Q3 expectations and that long-term AI and silicon strategy supports upside. BofA Analyst Sees Apple Beating Estimates in Q3 Results Apple’s Long-Term AI and Silicon Strategy Underpins Buy Rating and Unchanged $360 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Apple briefly overtook Nvidia in market value and reclaimed the “world’s most valuable company” crown, underscoring strong investor demand for its lower-capex AI strategy and durable cash generation. Apple Reclaims World’s Most Valuable Company Title at $4.9 Trillion
• Positive Sentiment: Several upbeat commentary pieces argue Apple’s AI approach avoids the massive infrastructure spending weighing on peers, while China partnership news with Alibaba could strengthen the company’s consumer AI strategy. Why Is Alibaba Stock Gaining Monday?
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles highlight that Apple’s stock is near record highs and may be flashing technical warning signals after a strong run, suggesting traders may be cautious into earnings. Apple Stock Sends Major Warning Signal as Momentum Hits Peak Apple stock’s 12-day momentum triggers sell signal not seen since 2020
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing legal risk from Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI, which could signal rising competition in AI hardware and add uncertainty around Apple’s broader AI ambitions. Apple’s Sues OpenAI, But Leaves Jony Ives Out of It. Here’s Why

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.