Apple Inc. $AAPL is Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s 4th Largest Position

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,834,896 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 78,281 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.3% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,401,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Apple to $380 from $330 and kept a Buy rating, saying Apple is well positioned to benefit from the emerging “agentic AI” smartphone market and could unlock substantial new revenue from a redesigned Siri and AI features. Apple seen as key beneficiary of emerging agentic AI smartphone market, BofA says
• Positive Sentiment: Other Wall Street coverage echoed that view, with reports saying Apple is hitting all-time highs as investors expect a deeper AI push at WWDC, which could improve sentiment and support further upside. Apple stock hits all-time high as analysts see AI-driven breakout
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also highlighted strong underlying fundamentals, including record Services revenue and continued strength in iPhone sales, reinforcing the long-term growth case for Apple. Strong Content & Advertising Aids Apple’s Services: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple and Google are pushing back against Canada’s proposed police data-access bill, a regulatory issue that could affect the company’s privacy stance but is not an immediate earnings driver. Apple, Google Blast Canada’s Plan to Expand Police Data Powers
• Negative Sentiment: One potential headwind came from an article noting iPhone 17e sales in Japan have slowed versus its predecessor, which could raise questions about demand in some markets. The Real Reason The iPhone 17e Is Falling Behind Its Predecessor In Japan

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $308.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $195.07 and a one year high of $311.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.28, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $271.87 and a 200 day moving average of $269.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost 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 was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group set a $296.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.31.

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.