Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 22,288 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,679,909 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 22,288 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.5% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $426,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Overbrook Management Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares during the last quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 24,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,189,000 after buying an additional 3,014 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,178,000. Summit Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 108.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,989 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,880,000 after buying an additional 18,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,482,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford said it will embed Apple Maps into upcoming EVs, expanding Apple’s software reach and reinforcing the value of its ecosystem. Ford Embeds Apple Maps Directly into Upcoming EVs
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Apple and reiterated an Outperform rating, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Apple as outperforming the broader market, supported by strong ratings and a favorable chart setup ahead of earnings. Why is Apple stock outperforming the broader market?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also the subject of discussion around upcoming product launches, AI features, and a possible device-leasing program, which could support demand but remain unconfirmed or longer-term in nature.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted concerns that Apple’s valuation is stretched heading into earnings, and insider sales plus short-interest chatter may temper enthusiasm if results disappoint.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $333.02 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $306.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.50 and a 52 week high of $334.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $366.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Maxim Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.40.

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.