Talbot Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 420,204 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,973 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 9.4% of Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $114,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Overbrook Management Corp lifted its position in Apple by 57.4% in 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 during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 2.2% in the third quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $101,301,000 after purchasing an additional 8,446 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Apple by 48.4% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $363,256,000 after purchasing an additional 465,393 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management lifted its position in Apple by 4.3% in the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Apple by 3.9% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 734,485 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $187,022,000 after purchasing an additional 27,445 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Apple from $239.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $303.06.
Key Apple News
Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to Apple naming John Ternus as CEO has been upbeat — investors and some analysts view his hardware pedigree as a credible path to accelerate device‑level AI and product innovation, supporting near‑term confidence in AAPL. Ternus the Page: Apple’s Engineering Prodigy Takes the Reins
- Positive Sentiment: Apple patched a high‑profile iPhone notification bug that exposed deleted messages; the security fix lifted sentiment around privacy and product quality and coincided with an intraday stock bounce. Apple (AAPL) Stock Climbs as iPhone Notification Bug Gets Patched
- Positive Sentiment: Channel and shipment data show strong iPhone demand (notably China) and some broker notes (e.g., Bank of America commentary) expect iPhone 17 demand to support upcoming results — a fundamental tailwind ahead of earnings. Apple gets a stunning boost as smartphone rivals stumble
- Neutral Sentiment: April 30 earnings are the next major catalyst — previews and options activity show investors positioning for a beat/miss outcome; that event could swing AAPL materially in either direction. Apple Q2 Earnings Preview: Is AAPL Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
- Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst notes: some firms reaffirm positive ratings while others flag valuation/AI execution risks — the street is split, so analyst chatter is supporting volume but not a clear directional consensus. Wedbush Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Apple
- Negative Sentiment: Reports of a broader leadership exodus and that chip chief Johny Srouji is “seriously considering” leaving pose execution risk — losing senior hardware/AI talent could undermine product roadmaps during an AI pivot. Apple rocked by executive departures, with chip chief at risk of leaving next
- Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk surfaces in India where an accelerated antitrust probe into App Store rules could lead to structural changes or multibillion penalties — a material long‑term profit and policy risk for Apple’s services franchise. Indian Antitrust Push Tests Apple App Store Model And Valuation Narrative
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Apple Trading Up 0.1%
Shares of Apple stock opened at $273.43 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.25 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $259.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.46.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Apple Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.15%.
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.
Further Reading
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