SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Sells 15,476 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 472,812 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 15,476 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.3% of SBI Securities Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. SBI Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $128,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,934,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avant Capital LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $315.20 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $195.07 and a 12 month high of $315.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $276.58 and its 200-day moving average is $270.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its 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 return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $296.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.31.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism is building ahead of WWDC, with Apple expected to unveil key AI features that could improve Siri and strengthen its software ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s MacBook Neo is reportedly gaining traction with new buyers, suggesting the company is still expanding its hardware appeal beyond its core customer base. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been lifting targets on AAPL ahead of WWDC, reflecting confidence that Apple’s AI strategy and software roadmap could reaccelerate growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: New Apple Wallet bill-splitting and payment-request features may help deepen engagement, but the immediate stock impact is less clear because the move is incremental rather than transformative. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is being discussed as a potentially overvalued stock after its recent rally, which could limit upside if WWDC disappoints expectations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Dell and Nvidia have intensified competition in PCs and laptops, pressuring Apple’s positioning in hardware categories like the MacBook Neo. Article Title

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

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.