Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. Sells 1,846 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,520 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,846 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 0.7% of Halter Ferguson Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Overbrook Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 14.1% in the first quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,189,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 108.3% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,880,000 after purchasing an additional 18,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $105,482,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, KGI Securities lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.43.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Buy and raised its price target to $366 from $260, saying the company is at an operational turning point with AI features and hardware momentum supporting growth. HSBC upgrades Apple to Buy, sees “strong cycle ahead”
• Positive Sentiment: China approved Apple Intelligence for iPhones, and Apple will integrate Alibaba’s Qwen AI model in its China rollout, a key step that could expand Apple’s AI adoption in one of its most important markets. Alibaba and Baidu shares jump in Hong Kong on Apple AI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple briefly overtook Nvidia in market value, reinforcing the view that investors are rotating toward Apple’s consumer execution and away from some AI-heavy names. Apple closes in on Nvidia in race for world’s most valuable company
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentaries highlighted Apple’s cash generation, shareholder returns, and robotics/innovation efforts, supporting the bullish “cash flow machine” and diversification narrative. Apple’s Core Business Cash Flow Machine Will Support Innovation and Diversification

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $333.74 on Monday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $303.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $277.12. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.50 and a 12 month high of $334.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The company’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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.