Trust Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Trust Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 163,144 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 4,448 shares during the quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $47,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and bullish outlook: Rothschild & Co. Redburn upgraded Apple from “Neutral” to “Buy” and raised its price target to $400, implying substantial upside. Morgan Stanley also identified Apple among large-cap technology stocks showing a bullish technical signal. Apple stock upgrade and price target
• Positive Sentiment: Apple positioned as an AI and volatility hedge: Analysts argue that Apple’s restrained AI infrastructure spending limits capital-expenditure and valuation risk relative to peers committing hundreds of billions of dollars to AI. Some investors also view Apple as an underappreciated AI beneficiary through its installed base and potential improvements to Siri. Apple’s low AI spending
• Positive Sentiment: Macro support: Retreating Treasury yields helped restore demand for mega-cap technology stocks, while Apple showed relative strength even as semiconductor shares and parts of the technology sector weakened. Apple stock and Treasury yields
• Positive Sentiment: Product optionality: Reports that a future foldable iPhone could support an estimated 11% increase in average iPhone prices provide a potential catalyst for revenue and margin growth, although the product remains unannounced. Apple foldable iPhone outlook

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.53.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $316.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.78 and a 1-year high of $344.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $309.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $286.52.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,342,929.25. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.