Rep. Bruce Westerman Sells Off Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) recently sold shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). In a filing disclosed on May 12th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $15,001 and $50,000 in Apple stock on April 21st. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “FISHER IRA” account.

Representative Bruce Westerman also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of UniCredit (OTCMKTS:UNCRY) on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (OTCMKTS:SIEGY) on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 4/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Chevron (NYSE:CVX) on 4/21/2025.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $212.93 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $207.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Andina Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 209.2% in the 1st quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 58,032 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,891,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 69,424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $15,421,000 after acquiring an additional 3,988 shares during the period. Bank OZK boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank OZK now owns 61,373 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,633,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.6% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,429,063 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,649,577,000 after acquiring an additional 187,907 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Representative Westerman

Bruce Westerman (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2015. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Westerman (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Westerman earned his BSBAGE in biological and agricultural engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1990 and his MF in forestry from Yale University in 2001. His professional experience includes working as a plant engineer for Riceland Foods and an engineer/forester for Mid-South Engineering Company.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.