Wallington Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Wallington Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 127,866 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,431 shares during the period. Apple comprises 4.3% of Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $32,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan reportedly raised its price target on Apple, reinforcing bullish expectations heading into fiscal Q3 earnings and signaling confidence in Apple’s growth and margins. J.P. Morgan Lifts Apple Stock (AAPL) Price Target Ahead of Q3 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s extended chip partnership with Broadcom through 2031 strengthens its AI and connectivity supply chain, improving visibility for future products and supporting sentiment around Apple’s long-term execution. Broadcom, Apple extend chip partnership through 2031
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports say investors are warming to Apple’s “cheap AI” strategy, with attention shifting to Macs, Siri, and other ecosystem features rather than just the iPhone, which could create new upside drivers. Why Investors Fell Back In Love With Apple’s Cheap AI Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said Apple should be able to weather hardware price increases because demand remains resilient, suggesting consumers may be less price-sensitive than feared. Apple Sales Seen Weathering Hardware Price Increases

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $310.66 on Wednesday. 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 $4.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.38. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.50 and a fifty-two week high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company 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.