Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. Sells 4,166 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. cut its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 166,286 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,166 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 8.1% of Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $45,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $311,157,662,000 after acquiring an additional 5,005,297 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 601,249,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $123,358,461,000 after acquiring an additional 5,224,229 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 354,749,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $72,506,336,000 after acquiring an additional 4,942,638 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This 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 90 days, insiders sold 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $284.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $261.12 and a 200-day moving average of $265.51. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.25 and a 52-week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 12.58%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple held exploratory talks with Intel and Samsung about making its main device processors in the U.S., which reduces single-supplier (TSMC) risk and is being priced as a supply-chain hedge by investors. Apple explores using Intel, Samsung to build main device chips in the US
• Positive Sentiment: Apple plans to let users choose third‑party AI models across iOS 27 features and is positioning devices as AI platforms — a strategic move that broadens the company’s AI roadmap without having to rely solely on its in-house models. Apple to let users choose rival AI models across iOS 27 features
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain solid: strong March-quarter results, continued iPhone strength (iPhone 17 cited as top seller in Q1), services momentum, and shareholder returns (dividend and a large buyback) support the stock’s rally. iPhone 17 Rules, Becomes World’s Best-Selling Smartphone
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports emphasize these chip talks are preliminary with no orders placed; switching foundries involves technology, scale and reliability tradeoffs, so any supply-chain benefit will depend on formal contracts and ramp timelines. Apple explores Intel, Samsung as U.S. chip suppliers
• Negative Sentiment: Apple agreed to a $250M settlement in a shareholder suit over delayed Siri/Apple Intelligence features — a headline risk and cash outflow that briefly pressures sentiment. Apple settles lawsuit over late Siri AI features for $250 million
• Negative Sentiment: Management has warned that rising memory (RAM) costs tied to AI needs could raise hardware prices and weigh on margins — a structural cost pressure to monitor. Apple’s Tim Cook says AI-fueled ‘RAMmageddon’ will make your next laptop and phone a lot pricier

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.31.

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.