Parker Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Parker Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 35.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,942 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 0.2% of Parker Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Parker Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Apple by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $313.33 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $219.25 and a fifty-two week high of $344.57. The company has a market cap of $4.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planned CEO transition appears orderly. Tim Cook will step down in September and be succeeded by longtime Apple executive John Ternus, a veteran with experience dating back to the Steve Jobs era. Cook’s endorsement and Ternus’ familiarity with Apple’s products may reduce concerns about strategic disruption. Tim Cook Says There’s ‘No Better Person’ to Take Over at Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Core business momentum remains strong. Apple’s latest quarter exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up roughly 16% year over year. Broad iPhone, Mac and Services demand continues to support the bullish case. Tim Cook’s Last Quarter as CEO Was Apple’s Best June Quarter Ever
• Positive Sentiment: App Store monetization is holding up. App Store revenue increased slightly despite a 4% decline in iPhone and iPad downloads, as revenue per download rose 4.7%. This suggests continued pricing and engagement resilience in a key Services business. Apple App Store Revenue Ticks Up Despite Falling Downloads
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is seeking dismissal of Apple’s trade-secrets lawsuit. OpenAI denies misappropriating confidential information related to Apple’s consumer-hardware efforts. The filing does not resolve the dispute, leaving legal and competitive uncertainty in place. OpenAI Seeks Dismissal of Apple’s Trade Secrets Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term cost and growth pressures are weighing on sentiment. Rising memory prices, supply constraints and policy risks could pressure margins, while slower Services growth has prompted some firms to downgrade Apple to Hold or Moderate Sell. Apple’s Capex Strategy Worked But Other Pressures Are Mounting
• Negative Sentiment: Competition in emerging hardware is increasing. Samsung reported a 30% rise in foldable-device preorders, highlighting a market Apple has yet to enter. Investors may view future Apple foldables as an opportunity, but execution and timing remain uncertain. Samsung Foldable Preorders Jump 30%

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $365.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.44.

Apple Profile

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.