SouthState Bank Corp Cuts Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

SouthState Bank Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 444,876 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,574 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 5.3% of SouthState Bank Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. SouthState Bank Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $112,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple reported record June-quarter revenue of approximately $109.4 billion, up 16% year over year, while diluted EPS of $2.02 rose 29% and exceeded Wall Street expectations. Strong iPhone and Mac sales drove the results. Apple reports third quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: The company said its active installed base reached an all-time high, and iPhone, Mac and Services each posted June-quarter revenue records. Apple also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share. Apple Q3 revenue rises
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple indicated that a revamped Siri could eventually become a paid service for heavy users, offering a potential long-term monetization opportunity as the company expands its consumer-AI strategy. Tim Cook says Apple may charge for AI Siri
• Neutral Sentiment: Thursday marked Tim Cook’s final earnings call as CEO before he steps down in September, adding leadership-transition uncertainty despite incoming CEO John Ternus’s expected continuity.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s fiscal fourth-quarter revenue outlook of $111.7 billion to $113.7 billion was below the roughly $114.3 billion consensus estimate. The cautious forecast is a key reason the stock has decreased despite the quarterly beat.
• Negative Sentiment: The generative-AI hardware boom is driving severe memory and component shortages. Apple is stockpiling inventory, but CEO Tim Cook warned that the impact of higher memory prices will worsen, pressuring product margins and potentially requiring further price increases. The quarter’s 50.1% gross margin benefited by about two percentage points from tariff refunds, a benefit that may not recur. Apple stockpiles inventory
• Negative Sentiment: Services revenue missed expectations, with Apple citing a slowdown in gaming and the effects of App Store changes. Weaker-than-expected China performance also raised concerns about regional demand and competition.
• Negative Sentiment: With Apple valued near $5 trillion and trading at roughly 40 times earnings, investors had set very high expectations. That premium leaves less room for disappointment in growth, margins or guidance. Apple forecasts slower growth

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $333.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $309.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $281.25. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.50 and a 1 year high of $344.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $276.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.40.

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.