Erste Group Bank Brokers Lift Earnings Estimates for Apple

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 EPS estimates for Apple in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, June 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the iPhone maker will post earnings per share of $8.74 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $8.71. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $8.74 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Apple’s FY2027 earnings at $9.52 EPS.

AAPL has been the topic of several other reports. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.59.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

AAPL stock opened at $291.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.09. Apple has a one year low of $195.07 and a one year high of $317.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $284.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $271.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley and TD Cowen raised their price targets on Apple after WWDC, signaling confidence that the AI rollout could support longer-term upside. Morgan Stanley revamps Apple stock target after key event
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts say Apple’s new AI features may help spark a bigger iPhone upgrade cycle and strengthen Services revenue over time. Apple’s AI could usher in a historic upgrade cycle that investors are overlooking
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple introduced a more capable Siri and platform-wide AI upgrades at WWDC, which could matter for future device demand, but investors are still waiting for proof of monetization. WWDC 2026: Everything announced on Siri AI, iOS 27, Apple Intelligence and more
• Negative Sentiment: The stock fell after WWDC because the AI reveal did not deliver the immediate breakthrough many investors expected, and the rollout looks gradual rather than explosive. Why Apple (AAPL) Shares Are Sliding Today
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts warned that older iPhones may not be able to run the new AI features well, limiting the addressable installed base and near-term upside. Apple’s AI Siri will be held back by aging devices, Morgan Stanley says

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.