T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,868,326 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,466,197 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,868,326 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.8% of T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,476,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Overbrook Management Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $28,449,000 after buying an additional 38,174 shares in the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management lifted its stake in Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,178,000. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,482,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,915,172,000 after acquiring an additional 214,215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $298.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $288.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.80. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.85 and a 1 year high of $317.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.06%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating on Apple and kept a $380 price target, citing Apple’s pricing power, strong supply-chain position, and ability to manage rising memory costs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: President Trump said Apple will work with Intel to design and build chips in the U.S., raising hopes for a domestic supply-chain boost and stronger strategic positioning for Apple. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said Apple is relatively well positioned to weather the AI-driven memory shortage because of its scale, inventory, and supplier relationships, which may help protect hardware margins. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple reportedly plans to raise prices across its product lineup, which could support margins but may also weigh on consumer demand if the increases are too large. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is also reportedly developing new AI wearables and a foldable iPhone for 2027, which supports the long-term product pipeline but is unlikely to affect near-term earnings. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Italy opened a Digital Markets Act probe into Apple’s cloud interoperability practices, adding another regulatory risk for the company in Europe. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $325.00 price objective 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, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.59.

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.