WealthPLAN Partners LLC Sells 37,278 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,423 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 37,278 shares during the period. Apple makes up 7.7% of WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $39,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, 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 directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.43.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple Intelligence reportedly received regulatory approval in China, potentially opening the door for a major new AI growth catalyst in one of Apple’s most important markets. Apple Intelligence Just Got the Green Light in China. What That Means for AAPL Stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America and Morgan Stanley both reiterated constructive views on Apple (AAPL) ahead of July 30 earnings, with analysts saying the company should beat Q3 expectations and that long-term AI and silicon strategy supports upside. BofA Analyst Sees Apple Beating Estimates in Q3 Results Apple’s Long-Term AI and Silicon Strategy Underpins Buy Rating and Unchanged $360 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Apple briefly overtook Nvidia in market value and reclaimed the “world’s most valuable company” crown, underscoring strong investor demand for its lower-capex AI strategy and durable cash generation. Apple Reclaims World’s Most Valuable Company Title at $4.9 Trillion
• Positive Sentiment: Several upbeat commentary pieces argue Apple’s AI approach avoids the massive infrastructure spending weighing on peers, while China partnership news with Alibaba could strengthen the company’s consumer AI strategy. Why Is Alibaba Stock Gaining Monday?
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles highlight that Apple’s stock is near record highs and may be flashing technical warning signals after a strong run, suggesting traders may be cautious into earnings. Apple Stock Sends Major Warning Signal as Momentum Hits Peak Apple stock’s 12-day momentum triggers sell signal not seen since 2020
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing legal risk from Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI, which could signal rising competition in AI hardware and add uncertainty around Apple’s broader AI ambitions. Apple’s Sues OpenAI, But Leaves Jony Ives Out of It. Here’s Why

Apple Stock Down 2.1%

AAPL stock opened at $326.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $201.50 and a twelve month high of $334.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $304.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

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.