Ervin Investment Management LLC Sells 2,142 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Ervin Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,250 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,142 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 7.8% of Ervin Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Ervin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Overbrook Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,449,000 after acquiring an additional 38,174 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.2% in the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $101,301,000 after acquiring an additional 8,446 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Apple by 48.4% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $363,256,000 after acquiring an additional 465,393 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Apple by 4.3% in the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Finally, Montis Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 15.8% in the third quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 77,919 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $19,841,000 after acquiring an additional 10,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

AAPL opened at $276.73 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.25 and a twelve month high of $288.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $260.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.27. 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 capitalization of $4.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’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 directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Better-than-expected results and a strong near-term revenue forecast boosted investor confidence; management cited benefit from new March products. Apple Delivers Strong Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Apple authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback and has massive free cash flow, supporting shareholder returns and reducing downside risk. Apple Just Gave Investors a $100 Billion Reason to Rethink the AI Spending Race
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and strategists are upping targets and highlighting App Store/services growth, providing near-term bullish research momentum. Price Target Hike / App Store Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Product roadmap/AI push — iOS 27 and related AI features are being highlighted as potential catalysts for higher engagement and monetization. More AI Is Coming to iOS 27
• Positive Sentiment: New wallet/payments features (turning QR codes into Wallet passes) could broaden payment use-cases and stickiness for Apple’s ecosystem. Apple Aims to Turn Every QR Code Into a Wallet Pass
• Neutral Sentiment: Services remain a growth anchor even as App Store download dynamics shift — analysts expect steady services growth that helps the margin profile. Services Strength Offsets Slower App Downloads
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand and PR items (e.g., new Pride band) support image but have limited direct financial impact. Apple’s New Rainbow Pride Band
• Negative Sentiment: Chip and memory supply issues are constraining iPhone availability, capping near-term upside and creating margin pressure as component costs rise. Apple Can’t Meet Demand For iPhones Due To Chip Shortages
• Negative Sentiment: App Store policy enforcement is drawing complaints from startups — regulatory and developer friction could attract scrutiny or hurt ecosystem sentiment. Apple’s Stance on Vibe Coding Apps Leaves Startups Frustrated
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution (Hold calls) citing rising memory costs and notable insider selling add near-term selling pressure and justify valuation skepticism. Hold Rating: Margin Risks from Rising Memory Costs

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.